Phoenix family meets with first responders who saved baby's life
PHOENIX - A Phoenix family was reunited with the first responders who saved their baby's life.
What we know:
A one-year-old boy was found unconscious and not breathing in a hot tub on March 2 in Phoenix around 11:30 a.m. near 19th Avenue and Greenway Parkway.
When first responders arrived, family members were performing CPR on the child. First responders took over CPR efforts.
"Thanks to the quick action of both the bystander and Phoenix Fire crews, the one-year-old’s life had the best chance of survivability despite being
transported in extremely critical condition to Banner Health Thunderbird Medical Center," the fire department said.
What they're saying:
During the March 25 reunion, Phoenix Police Officer Alan Hoelscher said putting himself in the shoes of the baby's family helped fuel his drive to help.
"We all have our own families. We have our loved ones. We put ourselves in that situation where we're thinking, what if that was us, or what is that family going through now, so, to be able to kind of help and help this turn out the way it did, is the best outcome possible," Hoelscher said.
He recounted what he did once he got to the scene.
"I ran around the side of the house through an open gate to the backyard, went through the pool fence and picked up the child. The dad is back there working on the kid. I picked him up. I started CPR and then ran through the house. I'm like, I need to get him to the fire department as quick as possible," Hoelscher said.
Christopher Pardi was one of four paramedics in the ambulance rushing the one-year-old to the hospital.
"Pretty much I was doing compressions all the way to the hospital," Pardi said.
‘Just be the support system’
The dispatcher who took the 911 call recalled how she jumped into action.
"I got to take the call. It was mom and dad on the phone, both of them," said 911 dispatcher Leah Groom. "So they got him out and mom had already started CPR from what I was told. So, I just kind of coached dad along to help her and just be the support system."
One of the doctors who cared for the baby boy described what happened once he arrived at the hospital.
"When he got to the hospital, he still didn't have a pulse. He was getting active CPR in progress," Dr. Rahul Chawla at the Banner Thunderbird Medical Center said.
Chawla and a team of medical professionals took care of him for the next several days.
"Within a few minutes, he got a pulse back, but it was still very, very weak. So it took about 30 to 40 minutes to get him stable enough to get him under the emergency room to the CT scanner and then to the intensive care unit," Chawla said.
What helped in this case was the temperature of the water.
"With this patient, the water was cold in the hot tub that he had his submersion event in. Had this event happened in August, and it was bath water, how hot the pools get here, the outcome probably would not have been good," Chawla said.
The family had a chance to personally and privately thank these first responders.
"They were very thankful, and I'm very thankful that we were able to help them," Hoelscher said.
What's next:
The little boy was released from the hospital about 13 days later.
He's back to his normal self, eating well, and playing with all of his siblings.
What you can do:
Child Crisis Arizona is offering families an application they can submit to request a pool fence. Click here for that information.
"Child Crisis Arizona in partnership with SRP, State Farm, and the 493 Firefighters Foundation, formerly the United Phoenix Firefighters Charities, is addressing water safety in our community. Together with collaborative efforts, we introduced the Pool Fence Safety Program designed to provide those in need of a pool fence with the opportunity to apply for a free one," Child Crisis Arizona's website says.
Applications are accepted through April 13.