Last Wednesday morning, Sept. 16, started earlier than usual for one local family.

Torris and Wanda Jones were awakened at 2:45 a.m. to the happy news that their daughter Briana Johnson was in labor. “We live five minutes away,” Torris said, but when they arrived at their daughter’s home 10 minutes after her phone call a new granddaughter was there to greet them.

“We walked into the house and to our surprise, our daughter was sitting on her bedroom floor holding her new baby. She also has a 6-year old, Diyana Makiya Johnson, a first grader at Lincoln Heights Elementary School who bravely assisted her mother with the delivery of her little sister Madisyn Brielle Johnson,” Torris said.

Brianna has a history of quick deliveries. Her 6-year-old Diyana arrived quickly but managed to wait until her mother made it to the hospital. Now ready to be a big sister, Diyana took on an important role in helping her mother deliver the baby.

Her grandfather reported her saying, “I almost cried but I knew I had to be a big girl.”

“Diyana was very calm and Heroic as she opened the door and directed the Paramedics to her mother and little sister. Diyana showed a lot of courage and calmness in situation that others would have presumed to be very stressful and chaotic,” Torris said.

Paramedics arrived at the same time as the gradparents. Mother, baby and big sister are all doing fine.