A 9-year-old girl fell from the third-floor window of a building in the city of João Pessoa in the state of Paraíba (northeastern Brazil), and was saved by her neighbor.
Security cameras recorded the moment this past October 26. According to the residents of the building, the child has autism and was apparently in distress due to the noise of a motorcade that was passing on the street. Unable to control her reaction, she decided to go out the window.
According to the Globo Brazilian network channel TV Cabo Branco, Thallyta Kelciene, who is a firefighter, lives in the same building as the little girl and was in the condominium parking lot. The apartment manager had already seen the girl and ran across the parking lot; that made Thallyta look up, and she saw the little girl hanging out the window. Thallyta was recovering from a recent surgery, but didn’t hesitate to risk getting hurt to save the girl. She stepped closer to be under the window to catch her, and at that moment, the child fell; Thallyta’s open arms cushioned the fall.
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"When I looked, she was already 100% out of the building. I only took two steps, and as soon as I raised my arms, she fell. She landed on me, but she hit and spun around because I grabbed her arm. She fell to the ground and lay still but I couldn’t see any signs of injury," reported the neighbor in an interview with TV Cabo Branco.
The emergency medical service was called and took the girl to the hospital. She is reported to be in stable condition.
"It was God’s work"
Also in an interview with TV Cabo Branco, the girl's father, Erasmo Henrique, stated that God used the neighbor to save his daughter. "It was God’s work ... I always keep in mind that God uses whomever he wants, however he wants ... It's no surprise that that person was there down below."
The girl's father also made a point of thanking his neighbor. "She saved my daughter's life. First of all Jesus, my almighty God, I only have God and her to thank. God used her and she let herself be used by God," he concluded.
On November 1, the city council of João Pessoa gave Thallyta a “Vote of Applause” for acting “fearlessly, with determination and heroism,” noting that she was “used by God to protect the fall of a nine-year-old girl,” said councilman Coronel Sobreira.