COROLLA, NC — The Zajac family from Niagara Falls, New York, returned to the Outer Banks this week to celebrate their daughter's first birthday in the same place she unexpectedly entered the world — during their vacation last year.
Emersyn Zajac was born inside a Corolla beach house named "Carolina Dream" that the family had rented.
"We're glad to be back to be able to share the memories and just keep it alive for more time to come," WAlyssa Narkiewicz, Emersyn's mother, told WTKR's Will Thomas.
For the Zajac family, the Outer Banks now holds an especially significant place in their hearts after the surprise delivery.
"Monday night was definitely one of the more emotional days, thinking about, like a year ago, we were just getting ready to go to bed, and we wake up to Emersyn," said David Zajac, Emersyn's father.
First responders from Corolla Fire and Rescue and Currituck County Fire-EMS delivered Emersyn inside the beach house. The family has maintained a connection with the emergency crews who helped them.
"We were sending them, you know, updates every month of her," David Zajac said.
During their return visit this week, the family reunited with the first responders who helped deliver Emersyn.
"We were there for probably 20-25 minutes on Tuesday. It was even cooler because it was her first birthday. So was like a before-and-after-the-fact thing. It's pretty cool to be able to stay connected with them, and that their interest is obviously still in how she's doing," David Zajac said.
After her birth, Emersyn spent time at Outer Banks Hospital and 12 days in the NICU at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital. The family plans to reconnect with those medical staff members as well.
"We're going to come back and see all the nurses and show her off there too, see how much she's grown," David Zajac said.
Though the family isn't staying at "Carolina Dream" this year, Emersyn reached another milestone during their Outer Banks visit.
"She started to stand by herself here. So she hit a little milestone here, too. So hopefully she'll be walking soon," David Zajac said.
The Zajacs are already planning their next trip to the area that has become a special part of their family's story.
"With Emersyn here, it's pretty much an every-year staple for us. So we're already planning next year with the group that we were with when she was born," David Zajac said.
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