What’s the biggest responsibility you’ve faced at work?
Perhaps you had to return something with an incredibly tight deadline. Or maybe you were given the dreaded task of entertaining the big client while your boss was stuck in traffic.
If you work in public services, however, your responsibilities may be far more daunting.
Take cops, for instance. There have been more than 1 million reported violent crimes in the US since 1990. Police officers often have to get involved in situations that pose a risk to the safety of the public, which, at times, could prove life-threatening.
Crime aside, taking on a job role that entails a high level of responsibility in general can land you in all sorts of important situations.
Hobart Police Officer Richard Mayer knows this all too well – he was put to the test on his very first day as a cop.
Officer Mayer was stopping for a bite to eat at Chick-fil-A with a few of his colleagues when he noticed a toddler turning purple a few tables away.
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: your child is choking – and you’re not sure how to help them.
Speaking to ABC 7 Chicago about her terrifying ordeal, Melanie Hass, the baby girl’s mom, recalled:
“I looked over and she started gagging. I could see something at the back of her throat. So, mistakenly I reached in and tried to grab it out, and I think that pushed it back into her throat.”
Thankfully, Melanie had struck lucky that day – because one cop knew exactly how to save her daughter.
Officer Mayer jumped into action as soon as Melanie ran over to his table. He recalled:
“She was frantic. We noticed that her daughter was choking. She was purple in the face.”
According to Officer Mayer, he and the other two officers jumped up, and Officer Mayer took hold of baby Charlotte.
He flipped her over and slapped her back – and the food came out.
The culprit was a tiny piece of apple. Though babies can eat apples safely from around 6 months of age, accidents do happen, as this story shows.
Officer Mayer is just happy that baby Charlotte is okay. He said:
“That caught us all off guard. All three of us officers sitting there have a daughter, and all of us looked back after it and said, ‘Hey, what if that was our daughter.'”
Melanie believes that Officer Mayer was fated to help her baby on that day, adding:
“This is what he was meant to do, you know, to save lives in some kind of way.”
If the cops hadn’t have been on the scene, the story could have ended much differently for Melanie.
But she could have taken action herself to save her daughter. If you’re a parent, you’ll sympathize with Melanie – you’ll know all too well how it feels to get into a frantic state of panic when your child is in danger.
Staying calm can save lives, however. If your child is choking, instead of looking for help elsewhere, take action as fast as you can.
Follow Officer Mayer’s example and lay your baby face-down, then give up to 5 quick, forceful blows between his shoulder blades using the palm of your hand.
Nobody wants to imagine their baby choking, but it could happen to us all.
You can learn more about this incredible story of one officer’s eventful first day at work in the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
