A Halton Regional Police officer is being credited for his quick-thinking after performing life-saving CPR on a newborn baby in an Oakville grocery store parking lot.
In a news release issued Wednesday, Halton Regional Police say at around 5 p.m. on April 19, a young mother was shopping with her toddler and infant son at the Real Canadian Superstore, located at 201 Oak Park Blvd.
The woman’s six-week-old baby Evan had been sleeping in an infant care seat as his mother shopped but police say when she started to walk out to her car in the parking lot, the baby woke up and began to cough. The baby reportedly began to foam at the mouth and turned a shade of blue. The child’s mother, who feared her baby did not have a heartbeat, called 911.
According to police, Const. Rick Buys, a Halton Regional Police officer who was conducting a traffic stop in the area, immediately responded to the emergency call.
Police say when the officer arrived, he found a frantic, crying mother holding her baby, who appeared to be blue and limp. Buys took the baby into the back seat of the car to check for vital signs and found the child had no breath and no pulse.
The officer started to perform CPR and eventually the baby coughed and began to cry. The child regained a heartbeat and was breathing prior to being taken to a hospital.
Police say after several tests, the infant appears to be back to normal.
