By Laura French
LINCOLN, Neb. — A Nebraska news anchor thanked first responders who saved his newborn son and urged parents to learn CPR in an emotional broadcast on Monday night.
1011 NOW Evening Anchor Bill Schammert went on the air Monday to tell the story of how his son, Cameron, stopped breathing last Tuesday at just 13 days old.
“He turned purple. Our baby was gasping for air, unable to breathe,” Schammert said. “We immediately called 911 and in seconds, a hero, a dispatcher on the other end was guiding us through CPR. First my wife, then me, trying to bring our son back.”
Choking up, Schammert described how Cameron finally began crying shortly before paramedics arrived, and spent the next 36 hours at a Bryan Health & Children’s Hospital in Omaha recovering. Doctors said that he likely stopped breathing due to mucus he couldn’t expel.
“From the dispatcher, to the first responders, to the medical staff, we were surrounded by heroes that day,” Schammert said.
The anchor concluded by calling for parents and caregivers to recognize the importance of infant and child CPR, saying that he and his wife had learned it at some point but forgot about it, thinking they would never need to use it. He later posted links to Red Cross and Mayo Clinic CPR courses on Twitter.
“Without the guidance of a dispatcher, of a hero, last Tuesday, I’m not exactly sure where we’d be today,” Schammert said.
Watch Schammert’s full message below:
https://twitter.com/BillSchammert/status/1348814586242334720