Firefighter reunites with Hoover burn victim Christian Cooper at Barons game

Theresa De Leon was tossing a baseball when she saw Christian Cooper for the second time in her life Wednesday night. Immediately, she walked to him, arms outstretched, and the two embraced.

Probably few of the people at the Birmingham Barons game at Regions Field realized they were witnessing a miracle as the two stood on the field together.

The last time De Leon saw Cooper, 80 percent of his body was severely burned from a car accident on Interstate 65. Doctors said the 24-year-old Hoover resident had a 5 percent chance of surviving the night and even if he did pull through, he would never be able to walk out of the hospital. Yet five months later, on Wednesday night, he stood on the sideline of Regions Field, watching De Leon throw the first pitch.

Last February, De Leon, a Birmingham Fire and Rescue firefighter, was off duty, on her way to Helena, when she noticed cars stopping in front of her on Interstate 65 in Hoover. Then she saw smoke. Instinctively, she pulled over and put on her firefighter gear. She was not only worried about the car accident victim, but the multiple civilians trying to help.   

“The instinct is, I’m going to do it regardless, because I’m a firefighter,” she said. “It’s what we do.”

Thanks to her and several others, Cooper survived the wreck and fire. After months of surgeries at a burn hospital in Georgia, he returned to Birmingham Saturday, a few days before De Leon was supposed to throw the opening pitch for Hometown Hero Night.

“The timing is great, because this was happening and he was coming out, so I said I have to call your dad,” De Leon said. “Because there’s no way I’m going to do this without him.”

The meeting was overwhelming for both of them.

“I’ve been nervous. Not about throwing the pitch, but about meeting Christian,” she said. “I keep on telling myself, don’t cry, but sometimes you can’t help that emotion.”

“It’s great to see the person who saved your life,” Cooper said, one arm around De Leon.

He hopes that within a year, life will be relatively normal, giving credit to his faith and incredible support from friends, family and even strangers for his recovery.

“It’s been miraculous,” said Cooper, now 25. “Just got to keep on keeping on. A lot of people rooting me on, so it’s been good.”

De Leon said firefighters rarely see miracles happen in their line of work and when miracles do happen, firefighters never see the outcome afterward. "We never meet who we helped,” De Leon said. “It’s a miracle…He’s a fighter, despite how hard it may be, mentally, physically, emotionally, so I just thank God that there were others there to help. I thank God that I was there, coincidentally, and he’s here.”