Las Vegas woman performs life-saving CPR on toddler
Dispatchers received emergency calls at 5:43 p.m. Thursday that a toddler was in an accident at a condominium complex pool
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By Gregan Wingert
Las Vegas Sun
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas firefighters credited a woman with saving a 2-year-old boy's life Thursday evening after the toddler nearly drowned in a Jacuzzi.
Dispatchers received emergency calls at 5:43 p.m. that a toddler was in an accident at a condominium complex pool on Washington Avenue between Buffalo Drive and Cimarron Road.
According to officials, the toddler took in too much water while in a 3-foot-deep Jacuzzi next to a pool with four other young children from the same family, as well as their grandmother.
The grandmother yelled for help and neighbor Heidi Baber, 43, grabbed the toddler and began administering CPR, officials said.
Baber isn't certified in CPR, but had taken a CPR class with her daughter. She said she performed CPR for four to six minutes.
"It felt like forever," she said. "I wasn't going to stop until I got him to wake up."
Baber told officials the child initially appeared limp and lifeless.
"I was a wreck after they drove him away on the gurney," said Baber, who now plans to become certified in CPR. "I never want to hold a baby who's not awake."
When firefighters arrived the boy was out of the water and crying before he was taken in an ambulance to a hospital.
The incident was investigated by Metro Police and Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, who ruled it accidental with no neglect. Firefighters say the incident could have been prevented is if the toddler had been wearing a life preserver.
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