Baby staying with teacher reunited with family
STAMFORD — Neysel, the newborn whose story captured headlines when his brother’s teacher took him in to protect him from the coronavirus, has been reunited with his family.
Hart Magnet Elementary School teacher Luciana Lira welcomed Neysel’s family — mother Zully, father Marvin and brother Junior — to her Stamford home last week,
where a beaming Zully got to hold her 6-week-old son for the first time.
Lira, who is 7-year-old Junior’s teacher at Hart, took the child in after a call from Zully, who told Lira she was sick with the virus while pregnant and had to undergo an emergency C-section. Zully asked Lira to take her baby home, since her husband and son had tested positive for the virus.
Lira agreed, bringing Neysel home to her husband and 11-yearold son.
“When I answered the phone and heard that cry for help, I knew I had to become involved,” Lira told Hearst Connecticut Media.
In a text message to a Hearst Connecticut Media reporter on Saturday, Lira was overjoyed: “Baby Neysel is home!”
Zully, an immigrant from Guatemala seeking asylum in the United States, was in a coma at Stamford Hospital for about three weeks after Neysel was delivered on April 1.
She had no recollection of making the call to Lira when she awoke from the coma, according to Catalina Horak, executive director of the Stamford nonprofit Building One Community.
“When she first woke up she didn’t remember having the baby,” Horak said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media on Saturday. “The last thing she remembers is being put in an ambulance and being taken to the hospital.”
Horak said while Zully was in the hospital, intubated and in a coma, a lot of behind-the-scenes work went on to ensure Neysel, Lira and her family were supported, as well as support for Marvin and Junior as they recovered from the virus.
Once word got out about Zully’s request and Lira’s response, their story was reported by local, national and international news outlets.
The attention quickly brought offers to help. Among those to step up and assist Lira and her family were Building One Community, a Stamford nonprofit, and Darien-based The Tiny Miracle Foundation. Numerous individuals reached out as well.
“The community came together to purchase the entire baby registry from Target,” Lira said at the time, crediting her friend and co-worker at Hart Elementary School, Luci Santora, for helping her organize the gift registry.
“In four hours, we were able to purchase items such as a crib and bassinet,” she said. “The PTO at my school has been amazing, as has our social worker. The baby is sleeping in a bassinet next to me and my son Christopher moved into our bedroom to help me, so it’s the four of us.”
Lira and her family took in the baby on April 7. Until Thursday, his family’s only contact with him was during daily video calls between Lira and Zully.
Horak said the positive ending for this story wasn’t always in the forecast, with things getting so bad at one point that doctors thought Zully might not make it and urged Marvin to prepare himself.
She said once Zully got a plasma treatment, she started to improve and was eventually cleared to go home on April 25. Before she was discharged from the hospital, Horak said, Zully tested positive for the virus still, but doctors told her she wasn’t contagious.
After Zully got home, Building One Community put the family in contact with photojournalist John Moore, who had reached out to the nonprofit to ask if there were any stories in the immigrant community he could document to offer a glimpse into the humanity and challenges during the pandemic.
Donning personal protective equipment, Moore spent weeks documenting Zully and her family’s recovery and preparation for Neysel, sharing those photos to Getty Images.
As Zully continued to recover from the virus and her C-section, the top priority for the family became testing negative for the virus and having their home cleaned. Horak said the Stamford Health Department, after being briefed on the situation, helped the family get expedited test results so they could bring Neysel home.
As the weeks went on, Horak said many volunteers provided meals for Lira and her family so they didn’t need to worry about cooking. Volunteers also ensured that Marvin and Junior were getting food through deliveries and grocery drop-offs.
Zully tested negative for the virus last week, as did Marvin shortly after. The final negative test result came for Junior on the morning of Thursday, May 14.
“That was the last green light that we needed,” Horak said.
Hours later, Zully and her family went to Lira’s home to meet Neysel for the first time and bring him home to their sanitized apartment.
Zully is still recovering, Horak said. She came home weak, unable to walk without a walker, and has since regained some of her strength. Horak said Zully and her family are thrilled to have Neysel home with them.
“They’re doing well, just getting used to having their new baby home with them,” Horak said.
Horak said the story wouldn’t have been a success without all those who helped the families behind-the-scenes, including the staff at Stamford Hospital, the Stamford Health Department and volunteers.
“It was just a very inspiring and uplifting story,” Horak said. “It really demonstrated the power of community.”