Three seconds is all it takes. Tila Levi, a mother of five from Bal Harbour, Florida, turned away from her 11-month-old son Eitan for just a moment when the infant rolled over and tumbled off the side of his changing table. But Eitan’s head never hit the wood floor thanks to his eagle-eyed brother Joseph, 9, who dove in and saved the baby’s life mid-fall.
The stunning footage recorded on the Levi family’s nanny cam went viral with more than 50 million views after Levi shared the clip to her Facebook page on November 9 as warning to other parents.
“Not my proudest moment as a mom, but I wanted to create awareness and show that our lives can be changed when you’re doing something like grabbing the baby wipes,” the 35-year-old tells Us Weekly. “I turned to the side to face my 6-year-old, who was worried about his homework. I said, ‘Just let me finish with the baby,’ and that’s the moment Eitan rolled off.”
The mom of Danelle, 13, Joseph, Zion, 6, and twins Eitan and Eliana knew she was opening herself up to criticism when she posted the video. “I’m OK with the nasty comments. I don’t care,” she tells Us. “I actually just got a private message from someone on Facebook saying, ‘You should not have anymore children.’ But we all make mistakes. We’re all just doing our best.”
As for Joseph, Levi says he’s relishing in his new hero status. “We tried to reward him for what happened. We said, ‘You can pick anything you want, we want to buy you a present,’” she tells Us. “He said, ‘For what? For saving my brother? I don’t need a present for that.’”
ABC News reported on November 17 that 3,500 children visit the emergency room for changing table injuries every year.
