Officer stopped frantic dad driving in traffic—she knew what to do when she discovered his 9-day-old baby wasn't breathing
Timely help during medical emergencies can make a world of difference. When a family realized that their nine-day-old baby had stopped breathing, they immediately rushed her to the hospital. However, they were stuck in traffic and the baby was rapidly turning blue. Just at that moment, the dad, Joe, saw a police officer's car and stopped it. He told the officer, Kristin Mitrisin, about their situation and she asked them to pull over. Her one action saved the baby's life, per WTAE-TV.
The incident happened back in 2021, when the family from Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, brought their newborn baby, Olivia Rose, home. It had been only nine days since her birth and she stopped breathing all of a sudden. The parents, Joe and Jodi, were rushing her to the hospital and were stuck in traffic when they saw Mitrisin's pickup truck. She was transporting boxes after a drug take-back event and noticed that the dad was trying to get her attention. "I heard beeping next to me. I looked over to the side and I saw a gentleman waving in his car," Mitrisin recounted. "So I put down my window and I asked him, 'Sir, do you need help with something?' And he said, 'Yes, I need you to get me to the hospital, my baby’s not breathing.'"
The woman confirmed if she had heard the man right and then asked them to pull over quickly, as she would have to help them right there. The officer dropped the tailgate on her truck and started performing CPR on the baby after she got to the family. The baby took a huge gasp of air after a minute of CPR. She started crying after a little more work and the officer decided to drive the mom and baby to the Brentwood Emergency Room, which was close to their location, instead of waiting for the paramedics to arrive. "I put the mother and the baby right in the police car and we went right there. We were there in 20 seconds. I took the baby from the mother, ran it into the doctors," the officer explained.
The doctors checked on the baby and realized that she had a heart condition and began treating her for that. A GoFundMe page was started on April 26, 2021, to help the family with the baby's medical expenses. "Mom, Dad and baby girl have a long road ahead. If you are able and feel led to help this family, any donation would be greatly appreciated. All funds raised will help cover Olivia’s medical and family expenses. Please continue to pray for Olivia’s recovery," the fundraiser page explained. The page managed to raise $27,310 out of their $50,000 goal. The officer was grateful that she could help the family in their hour of need.
"I can’t thank all of you enough for the contributions you have made to this family. Today, sweet Olivia is getting prepped for her first heart surgery to build an Aortic arch and to put a band around her pulmonary artery," an update from April 29, 2021, pointed out. "This operation will take approximately 2.5 hours. Please take time to pray for Joe and Jodi and precious Olivia. Please also pray for the nurses, doctors, surgeons and all those involved in not only this surgery but also her recovery."