One second your baby is peacefully nestled in your arms, suckling away at a bottle and slowly drifting away toward slumber. The next second you frighteningly realize your baby has gone limp and is lifeless, unable to breathe.
In that moment, panic kicks in. Even if you’ve taken infant CPR and first aid classes, that important lifesaving knowledge has to flood your brain and rational thinking must take over.
The Heimlich maneuver is used when individuals are choking. The process is different for infants and wee ones compared to adults.
Not everyone is knowledgeable in this lifesaving technique, but thankfully, Sterling Heights Police Officer Cameron Maciejewski is.
A call came into the 911 dispatch center alerting officers on duty of a choking baby. Officer Maciejewski happened to be closest to the home and raced over.
As he zoomed up to the home, lights flashing and sirens blaring, the baby’s mother sprints outside clutching the baby.
She tearfully thrusts the baby at the officer as he hustles out of the squad car.
Other family members poured out of the home onto the front lawn in the hopes the officer would save the three-week-old baby’s life. She choked on something and became unresponsive.
Officer Maciejewski admirably retained all composure and like a true hero and police officer embroiled in a frightening situation, calming received the baby and flipped her onto her stomach to perform thrusts and dislodge whatever was choking her.
Thankfully, it worked and the baby regained consciousness.
“(S)He’s still blinking. (S)He’s blinking. Okay, hold on. Hold on. Yup, there you go. Okay. He’s crying, (s)he’s crying. Okay. (S)He’s crying. Hey, it’s okay, (s)he’s crying … I can see that she’s got a pulse and she’s breathing, okay?”
When she realized her baby was breathing again, the mother collapsed to the ground in tears, relief washing over her.
Even the police department’s leadership was grateful and shared on Facebook their heartfelt sentiments.
“If it wasn’t for Ofc. Maciejewski’s quick, calm, lifesaving actions, the outcome of this incident could have been tragically different. Not only did the officer save the baby, but the officer did an outstanding job consoling the family.”
The incident was captured on the dashcam and Officer Maciejewski’s lifesaving skills and heroic rescue have been praised and gone viral.
Sterling Heights police Chief Dale Dwojakowski watched the video and said Maciejewski is a hero.
“Talk about a heartwarming video. I’m so proud of my officer. He did just a great job and we’re very proud of him.”
According to the police department, whoever called 911 for help reported the infant choking and losing consciousness while drinking from her bottle.
“When a baby isn’t breathing, it’s stressful enough, but to arrive on scene and have the entire family run up to him — he knows it’s bad and he’s calming them down while providing medical attention to the infant.”
What’s even more impressive is that the officer has been with the department for less than two years but responded amazingly to a nervewracking situation involving a newborn whose very life depended on his very actions.
“This officer performed well is an understatement. He absolutely saved a life.”
Because of a language barrier, the family declined to speak with media outlets but indicated they were grateful.
The officer shrugged off all praise, indicating that it was just part of the job.
“If I start freaking or if I can’t handle myself or maintain my cool, then that just escalates everything for the family, and I mean as you saw in the video, there were lots of family there.”
After the incident, the Sterling Heights Fire Department transported the baby to the hospital for a checkup.
Watch the gut-wrenching video below as tension grips you, then relief fills you when the baby begins crying.
What a hair-raising situation! Thank goodness the baby was just fine in the end.
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