A Medina police officer credits being in the right place at the right time with being able to spring into action using his EMT training to save the life of a newborn baby girl on a recent Friday night.
Officer Jeremiah Jessen was working his normal shift on April 3 when a call came out for an unresponsive 4-week-old baby. Jessen just happened to be within a half mile of the location and was able to immediately respond to the scene, a report by Local Ties Medina said.
“It was a pretty chaotic situation,” Jessen said. Several kids were outside the residence and mom was at the front door screaming and crying, he said. Jessen entered the living room and found the baby on the floor turning blue and with a swollen tongue, indicating an obstructed airway.
Jessen, who is a certified EMT, immediately began CPR on the baby until she restarted breathing.
Half of the officers on the Medina police force are certified EMTs. “We are lucky to have a very skilled group of people at the police department,” Jessen said, “I know all of my partners would have done the same thing.”
The Loretto Fire Department also responded to the call and was at the scene within five minutes of Jessen’s response, and EMTs arrived within another few minutes. Jessen adamantly credited the entire response team in their efforts.
Jessen, who has 25 years of service between the military and law enforcement, later heard from a contact at Children’s Hospital that the infant had suffered from pertussis (also known as whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory illness that can be fatal for babies). In a discussion with the medical director at North Memorial, he learned pertussis is highly unusual for a four-week-old. “Had the mom waited any longer to call, the baby would have died,” Jessen said. “But the baby is alive and doing well so it’s a good outcome!”
________________
If you have an inspirational story or an act of charity you would like to see highlighted please email us at pbagnpghf@nycunarjfza.pbz
