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They were summoned by an 091 call on Saturday, a week ago, after two-year-old Marina was found unconscious, not breathing and with no pulse.
The officers, based in Torrent – close to Valencia airport and in the dead centre of the Comunidad Valenciana – rushed straight to the scene, but despite performing CPR on her, she did not respond.
Realising it might be too late by the time an ambulance arrived, the officers took Marina straight to hospital in their patrol car.
Often, in cases like this, the police will never get to hear the end of the story – and in the majority of cases, they would probably rather not.
But they were contacted by Marina's mum, Raquel Fernández, today (Friday) to say her daughter had been discharged from hospital, was 'very well indeed', although she was undergoing tests, monitoring and medication to find out the cause of her sudden loss of consciousness.
The two policemen visited the little girl at home in Torrent, where they gave her lots of presents – a cuddly toy, two toddler-sized National Police T-shirts, pens (which she will need to wait a few years to be able to use), bracelets, and a baseball cap the right size for her little head.
“The bottom fell out of my world, I was no longer a person, when I saw my daughter lose consciousness and found she had no pulse,” says Raquel.
“I sincerely hope never to have to go through a situation like that again in my life.
“But these officers saved our lives – mine and my family's, as well as my daughter's, because this little girl is the light of our lives, and I will be grateful for what these policemen did until the day I die.”
Marina's dad, Alejandro Planells, described the 'helplessness and desperation' he felt when his daughter stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating, and said a situation like this 'puts things into perspective' and 'makes you look at everything very differently'.
“We're now in debt for life to these police officers – they're our heroes, and we'll never be able to repay them for as long as we live,” Alejandro says.
As for the policemen themselves, they said seeing little Marina running around the house laughing was 'just wonderful'.
“This is what gives you life,” said one of the officers.
“It gives you back all the enthusiasm for the job, and reminds you why you joined the force in the first place.
“With all the thousands of unpleasant tasks we have to face every day, the ones like this are what make it all worthwhile.”
Both the family and the officers agree the situation has forged a 'connection for life' between them, and they fully intend to remain in contact to find out how Marina gets on.
Police and parents alike say there is 'nothing like a happy ending' to make you feel 'grateful' about life in general.
The above photograph shows various National Police officers stationed in the Comunidad Valenciana, and was taken by the force's regional headquarters – for data protection reasons, a picture of the actual officers, and the Torrent family, could not be published.
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