WARNING: The following image may be disturbing to our sensitive readers.
In a despicable act, someone left this young baby girl behind to die in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The baby was completely naked and left behind more than six feet underground.
To make things even worse – she was sitting nearby a dangerous a red ant colony.
Luckily, the baby was saved thanks to the efforts of a sweet pup.
The 63-year-old Charmaine Keevy was just doing her usual morning walk along with her sausage dog Georgie. Suddenly, Georgie started barking continuously at a nearby drain duct.
The woman didn’t think much of it at first but decided to check it out after she heard a noise coming from there as well. Charmaine bowed to take a closer look and couldn’t believe her eyes when she realized it was a baby that was in desperate need of help.
“When Georgie first started barking at the noises I thought it was a cat but then I realized it was a baby and people must have thought I was mad because I was trying to stop all these passing cars.”
Immediately, Charmaine started waving at passing cars for help. Cornie Viljoen pulled over, and he confirmed that the baby was making noises. Because the drain structure was six feet under normal ground level, the two weren’t able to rescue her immediately.
In addition, there was a very heavy concrete slab right over the drain, so they couldn’t reach her.
Luckily, the driver had a steel bar laying around in the trunk of his car. After a couple of minutes, the two were able to remove the concrete slab and try and reach her.
“I don’t know what would have happened if this guy had not stopped to help me. He got a steel bar from the boot of his car and we lifted the cover off the drain and then he dropped down inside.”
“When he handed me this tiny crying baby I immediately wrapped it in my jersey and kept her warm. The ambulance came and assisted me and then they took it off to the hospital for treatment.”
Cornie then dropped directly into the drain and immediately felt small bites in his leg.
They didn’t realize it at first, but the drain was the home of a red ant colony. The man was stung multiple times when he grabbed the baby girl. Luckily, the baby was laying just a little bit higher than the colony, or things could’ve gotten much worse.
“When I got into the hole it was higher than my head and it was so narrow that I had to go down on my knees and I couldn’t bend over so had to feel down for the baby below,” Cornie said to the Daily Mail. “The baby was lucky the red ants were higher up in the drain and not down at the bottom where she was.”
“I didn’t know if the baby was injured so I tried to pick her up very carefully and very slowly and she was so small. I just wanted to hold her for a while but I knew that she needed urgent medical help.”
“‘I just do not know why anyone could do this to a new born baby but I was just so glad that we were able to help her and save her life. I told Charmaine to call the emergency services right away” the man said.
The emergency services quickly arrived and the baby, named Grace April, needed to be taken to the hospital to receive emergency treatment. Further diagnosis revealed that the baby was dealing with hypothermia, severe respiratory issues and even had her umbilical cord still attached.
It was clear: this baby was dumped in a despicable act.
A local spokesperson for the police told the press that someone likely deliberately opened up the slab covering the drain and put the baby there. Unfortunately, no one has been apprehended as of this writing.
However, it looks like baby Grace is on track to make a full recovery.
“The baby is OK at the moment but picked up a bit of a viral infection because of exposure to the cold but she’s a fighter and getting stronger.”
“She is not out of the woods yet but she is breathing on her own now and the nurses say she will make it.” Cornie assured.
Charmaine now hopes that whoever did is takes responsibility for their actions and wants this little baby girl to have a loving home.
‘”I hope if the mother does not come forward that Grace April finds a loving family and makes her mark on this world.”
