It was in 1988 when Doreen and her then 3-week-old daughter, Leona, were on their way to New Durham, New Hampshire to visit family when their lives were changed forever.
Doreen’s brother and sister came to pick them up in Boston. Leona had come down with a cold so they sat in the back of the car.
As they sat in the back, her baby coughed with a little vomit coming out.
As Doreen wiped the trickle of vomit from 3-week-old Leona’s mouth, the concerned mother realized that her daughter’s lips were blue.
She screamed to her brother to stop the car who was driving on the I-95 headed north.
They found a McDonald’s parking lot and as soon as they found a spot, her siblings ran inside to call an ambulance. All this while Doreen was attempting mouth-to-mouth on Leona.
It was a move she remembered from the ninth grade.
A gentleman inside came and asked her brother if anyone was doing CPR, to which her brother said that Doreen was trying but it wasn’t exactly a skill Doreen knew.
The concerned man went to Doreen and took little Leona from her attempting to revive her daughter.
It was at that moment when the panicked mother lost hope, thinking she’d lose her baby.
Doreen, lost and not knowing what else to do, said a prayer for her daughter.
The stranger continued his attempts to revive Leona, and after a few minutes, Leona coughed and whimpered, right at the moment an ambulance arrived for them.
They were taken to the hospital where doctors couldn’t pinpoint what the problem was. Doreen was advised to see a respiratory specialist for Leona.
Her baby eventually spent several weeks in a hospital due to whooping cough, something Doreen passed on to her child.
Leona wasn’t old enough to get a vaccine for it.
Fast forward to 1996, when Oprah Winfrey set up a reunion between Doreen and Leona, and the heroic gentleman from McDonald’s on her show.
Doreen had tried to connect with the man who saved Leona’s life but now, thanks to Oprah, she got to meet Paul Daiute once again!
The man from McDonald’s comes out with roses and a present for the little girl but it was Doreen’s embrace, full of tears, that greets him.
“I never got to thank you.” she says, sobbing in his arms.
Leona has the sweetest smile on her angelic face as she reunites with her hero.
“Fate led me to Leona that day.” says Paul after Oprah revealed that he had a fight with his wife on the same day.
Paul’s wife was upset over a firearm purchase that he ordered from England. Then she got even more upset when the firearm was delivered to Boston instead.
In an attempt to make peace with her, Paul asked his wife if she wanted to eat. She responded by pointing towards the McDonald’s.
It was a series of unfortunate events that led Paul to Leona.
Thanks to Paul and his angry wife, they found themselves at the right place and time where he saved the life of a baby, who became his lifelong friend. It was a miracle.
Watch the video below to see the heartwarming reunion for yourself!
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