Quick Actions By Mom, Officer Help Save Choking Baby

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Timing and the quick actions of an alert mother and a Lake County Forest Preserve District officer helped save the life of an eight-day-old baby who began choking. Officer Brad Ehrhardt was driving his squad car north on Route 45, just south of Route 60, in Mundelein when a van pulled behind him, flashed its lights and honked its horn, according to an article from the Lake County New-Sun. Ehrhardt pulled over and a woman rushed toward him with a baby, who was purple in color, and said, "My baby's not..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Ehrhardt grabbed the child, who was born three weeks premature, started first aid and tipped the baby over and then back upright. A lot of mucus came out of the baby's mouth and nose and the officer noticed the baby began to breathe a bit. A bulb syringe was used to suction "the stuff" out of the baby's mouth and nose, Ehrhardt said.

The officer then stayed with the bewildered mother until an ambulance arrived, trying to calm her down, according to the article. During a Lake County Forest Preserves District Board meeting on June 11, Ehrhardt was presented with a life-saving award.

“I was just really glad I was there at that moment, because it’s all timing. Another minute the baby lost breath, all of a sudden you can’t bring her back and there’s nothing you can do,” he said.

More via the Lake County New-Sun