She’s coming home. Baby Adalyn Rose, who was born in the ER after her mother was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver, is about to leave the hospital.
Her father calls her a fighter, as he deals with the loss of his wife and learning how to change diapers.
“Come on, you can do it, you’re almost there,” James Alvarez cooed to his daughter. “I want my daughter to have the best life. And anything I can do to fulfill that, I’m going to do it.”
Adalyn Rose should not be in this world yet. She was supposed to be born on Sept. 20, but was born in an emergency C-section six weeks early.
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She now weighs five pounds and two ounces, and her father says she is healthy enough to go home.
“As soon as I held her, everything just washed away. It was just her and I in that moment,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez’s wife, Yessenia Aguliar, was killed by an alleged DUI driver Aug. 11. She and her husband had been walking hand in hand near their home when they were hit.
Alvarez said the bond he had with his pregnant wife is now evident with his daughter.
“Seeing her there and calling for her name and her like opening her eyes looking for me, that meant so much to me because that’s what we did together, my wife and I,” he said.
Alvarez said two days after Adalyn Rose was born, she began breathing on her own. She now takes a bottle, gets baths from her father and is about to go home with him.
“I'm up for the challenge. I know I don't have my wife with me to help me, but I know she’s here spiritually. She’s giving me the strength to do that,” he said.
Alvarez said he's prepared to be a single father, one who draws a lot of strength from people who look at his daughter the same way he does.
“People want hope. They want that ray of sunlight in these dark times,” he said.
The homecoming is set for Monday, and Alvarez said he can't wait to bond with his newborn at home, when he can take off his mask and she can see his entire, smiling face.
