Pennsylvania baby born at 23 weeks and her family reunite with paramedic who helped deliver her

A special reunion unfolded Thursday at Jefferson Abington Hospital, all to celebrate a baby girl named Isabella.

"She looks amazing. She is so big, she's so much bigger than when I last saw her," Cheltenham paramedic Jessica Barto said.

Barto responded to a 911 call and delivered baby Isabella, who was born prematurely at 23 weeks, weighing just 1 pound. 

"I did some mouth-to-mouth, and we just went and did compressions, CPR, ventilations, got her to the hospital as quick as we could," Barto said.

Parents Crystal Hilliard and Anthony Robinson said they were shocked when the baby was born suddenly on July 19 at home in Elkins Park. 

"I didn't get a chance to really see her because I was in so much pain," Hilliard said.

Dr. Erin Cipko, a neonatologist at Abington, said, "My thought was that she wasn't going to make it." 

When the baby arrived at the hospital, Cipko and the team went to work, getting the baby on a ventilator. 

"She was extremely small, pale, not really breathing, not good color, and we just went into immediate action," Cipko said.

Against the odds, they saved the baby's life. She now weighs 6 pounds. 

"It feels like relief. Every time I get a chance to see her, every time I get a chance to hold her, I'm grateful," Hilliard said.

Isabella's survival has created new friendships. Her parents have invited Barto to their upcoming wedding, which will be at the hospital with the baby. 

"We're all just absolutely thrilled," Barto said.

The wedding on Nov. 7 will be two days before Isabella's original due date. Isabella is a fighter, surrounded by loving heroes who've delivered her a bright future.

The baby is being treated now for pulmonary hypertension; once that's resolved, doctors say she should be able to go home.