JACKSONVILLE – Clay County Fire Rescue Lts. Joe Hutchins and Thomas Gill rarely find closure after one of their calls. That all changed Wednesday morning when they, along with CCFR Battalion Chief Billy Futch Jr., were invited by the parents to meet baby Vianca at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

Gill and Hutchins, who just happened to be driving past the entrance of the Black Creek Marina when the call for a trapped child and the overturned boat was issued, made an impromptu rescue on Aug. 25 of the girl after she became trapped under a capsized boat for more than 13 minutes in the channel of the Black Creek and St. Johns River. A father and son who were about to go shrimping gave them a ride to the site, and Gill spent several minutes underwater finding her; Hutchins then spent nearly 15 minutes performing life-saving CPR until she arrived at the hospital.

When Vianca arrived at Baptist Medical Center Clay, her heartbeat had been inexplicably revived. Gill was also taken to the hospital because ingested a lot of water. Before he left, he stopped by the Intensive Care Unit to check on the girl. All he knew was she was still clinging to life when he was discharged.

“The toughest part about working with rescue is, once we leave the emergency room, we don’t know what happens after that,” Gill said. “We didn’t know who the father and son were. We didn’t know if the little girl survived. There were so many things we wanted to know. It was hard to walk away from this one. We’re human.”

A Clay Today story posted on social media led Gill and Hutchins to meet Ryan and Weston Daw, the father and son, on Sunday, Sept. 8. The story also led to a message from Vianca’s family and an invitation to the hospital.

The visit turned into a three-hour stay.

“Eyes were watery. It was emotional,” Hutchins said. “It was amazing to see how well she was. To know she was underwater for that long and to see just how good she’s doing, there’s just no explanation.”

Both firefighters and Futch, who were in charge of the shore at the Black Creek Marina, held Vianca. It was an emotional moment for all three, considering the last time Hutchins and Gill held her was on Sept. 1, and her body was limp, cold and lifeless.

“We told her parents we plan to be part of her life,” Hutchins said. “We said when she goes to prom, we’ll be there to meet the boyfriend.”

He said the father laughed and agreed. Hutchins said the parents said we will always be in her life.

 “She’s breathing on her own, and they’ve removed all of the tubes and monitors,” Hutchins said. “She’s still going through rehabilitation, but her progress is nothing short of … a miracle. She is the miracle baby.”