I have had CPR training for decades now. Never have I had to use it on my own family and I pray that I never will. For a Florida woman, that training was a blessing.
The Miami Herald reported that Pamela Rauseo had her 5-month-old nephew, Sebastian de la Cruz, in her care when he stopped breathing. The baby was born early and had respiratory issues, according to the newspaper.
When Rauseo saw he was turning blue in the back seat, she leapt from the car and screamed for help. Lucila Godoy heard Rauseo’s cries and left her own toddler in the back seat of her car, rushing to the 37-year-old aunt’s aid.
Good CPR training teaches to call for help before beginning resuscitation so that the victim has a better chance to survive. That is what Rauseo wisely did when she pulled over.
Miami Herald photographer Al Diaz was also among those who heard the panic and witnessed the heroic actions by civilians and emergency officials that ultimately saved the baby — and he captured the stunning moments on camera.
“I heard screaming,” Diaz, who won a Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for his work covering Hurricane Andrew, told the newspaper.
He added that he heard Rauseo “screaming that the baby can’t breathe.”
Before whipping out his camera, the Miami Herald reported that Diaz found Sweetwater Police Officer Amauris Bastidas nearby.
As Rauseo blew the breath of life into the baby’s mouth, Bastias pumped his small chest.
By the time rescue workers reached the frantic scene, the baby was breathing consistently, though his breath was weak.
