When powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, Dayana Patiño had only one instinct—to protect her newborn son.

The 2-week-old baby, Juan David, was in her arms when their eight-story apartment building collapsed, trapping them beneath tons of concrete and debris for nearly 12 hours.

Unable to move and unable to breastfeed her baby, Dayana stayed as calm as she could, gently checking his tiny nose every so often to make sure he was still breathing.

“As long as he was alive, I was going to be alive,” she later recalled.

Before the building collapsed, Dayana had been washing dishes when she felt the first tremor. She rushed to pick up her son just moments before everything around them came crashing down.

Buried beneath the rubble, she carefully conserved her energy, waiting for the right moment to call out for help. Eventually, rescuers heard both her voice and the baby’s cries, leading them to the trapped pair.

The emotional rescue was captured on video as first responders handed the dust-covered newborn to his father, Gerson, who had believed his wife and son had not survived.

“I thought they were ᴅᴇᴀᴅ,” he said. “When I saw my son, I felt like I was born again.”

Dayana suffered injuries to both legs, while little Juan David escaped with only minor injuries. Both were taken to a hospital for treatment and are now recovering.

Although the family lost their home, nearly all of their belongings, and even their pet dog in the disaster, they remain grateful for what matters most—they survived together.

“We lost almost everything,” the family said, “but we will rebuild.”

Source: People