There were scary moments for a Punxsutawney couple back on Dec. 5, when their little baby stopped breathing. Now they’re thanking the police officer who came to the rescue.
We have more on how the officer saved the little girl.
Inside their Punxsutawney home, Frank Carr says says his baby girl felt hot and wasn’t breathing. He knew something was terribly wrong.
“i was the one holding the baby when the baby went unconscious. She went unconscious twice. The first time she turned bright purple,” says father Frank Carr.
Carr says 15-month-old Jessalynn was fading in and out of consciousness, and that his friend tried breathing into her mouth with no luck. Finally, he called 9-1-1, and Officer Matt Conrad showed up.
“And laid her on my floor and me and him both undressed her and he breathed into her mouth one time and then started pushing on her chest. Then she started screaming, and when she started screaming, I started crying,” says Carr. “He was apologizing to me for her crying and I told him that was the sweetest noise I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“What a great sound that was!” says grandmother Kim Whitesell.
Jessalynn’s grandmother says she drove over in time to see the baby and her mom get into an ambulance. Later, she heard about what the officer did.
“I sent a card and then felt that there should be more. He needed to be recognized,” says Whitesell.
At last Tuesday’s council meeting, Whitesell gave Officer Conrad a plaque. The Punxsutawney Spirit captured a picture in the newspaper.
“I mean, he saved her life. The paramedic told me that she probably would have died if he had not been that close, and knew what to do,” says Whitesell.
Whitesell says her daughter was once told she couldn’t have children, so Jessalynn has always been a miracle child, and now, even more so.
“What words could ever ever express the gratitude for saving my granddaughter’s life. I mean, what do you say? A card’s not enough. That little plaque isn’t enough,” says Whitesell.
“Like I told him when I got here I don’t really care for cops but that day i really cared for cops, that cop really got here and he did his job real good,” says Carr.
Borough council president Jaime Sherry says Conrad has been with the department for about 4 years and is also an Army veteran who’s in the reserves.
Jessalyn’s dad says the only issue doctors could find is that she was teething. If her temperature goes up again, he says they were advised to see the doctor.
