(NewsNation) — Arapahoe County Deputy Nicholas Pacheco received a call early Sunday morning that a one-month-old baby was choking. Quickly springing into action, Pacheco started CPR and back thrusts on the baby once arriving at the property.
A few seconds later, the baby was coughing and crying — a sign that Pacheco had saved the infant’s life.
It only took the deputy between three to five minutes to arrive at the family’s home after he got the call.
“The entire time driving, as quickly as I was, I was praying in my head, ‘Please let this be something that I can help,'” Pacheco told NewsNation.
It was the first time he had ever needed to do CPR on an infant.
“As soon as I read the call notes from my computer, I knew immediately it was a different medical situation,” Pacheco said.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office trains its officers in CPR and infant CPR every year. Pacheco explained that they learn how to be able to conduct several chest compressions by only using the hand and tips of fingers for the CPR, as well as back thrusts, to a choking child to dislodge whatever is preventing the baby from breathing.
A father to two girls, Pacheco had always made an effort to know how to properly conduct CPR in the event he would ever have to use it on his kids.
“It was definitely a ‘daddy mode’ thing. But also knowing that I need to be professional and just get there to try to help another baby that is only one month old,” he said.
Pacheco said when he arrived at the house, the baby’s parents were in shock at the situation. The mother instantly handed the baby to him and basically just said “Please,” Pacheco explained.
“That was all that I could see on her face because I think she was in such terror of her blue child not breathing, not being responsive,” he said.
The baby is alive and was taken to a local hospital where he made a full recovery. Pacheco said he was just grateful to have been able to be there.