22-Year-Old Maintenance Worker Hears a Mothers Scream – Uses His Army Instincts to Save Her Babys Life
A routine work job turned into a kiddie crisis, when a baby’s life was hung in the balance.
*Featured image contains photo by Anna Shvets
“I’ll never be able to thank Jack enough for what he did — he’s a hero.”
The woman who spoke these words asked that she not be identified due to the ‘trauma’ of the event. Chances are you’d do the same if you experienced what she did.
And chances are once you meet Jack, you’ll also agree that he’s a hero.
A Mother’s Cry for Help
It was another day of lifting and lugging for maintenance worker Jack Gale and his colleague Wayne Stevens. They were doing work in a Churchyard when all of a sudden a woman’s cries for help pierced their ears.
Looking in the direction of the cries, they saw a woman rush out of her home carrying a little boy. Rushing over, Gale saw that the lifeless 8-month-old had stopped breathing and was changing color.
With seconds ticking away, Stevens ran to call an ambulance, leaving Gale with the frantic mother and her choking baby. Seconds turned into minutes, with no ambulance in sight.
That’s the exact moment when this maintenance worker put on his cape.
How a Maintenance Worker Saved a Choking Baby
Though only 22 years old, Gale’s experience in the army kicked in. Using his emergency training, he held the boy over his knee and massaged his back in a bid to clear his airways.
While Gale said that “it didn’t seem more than 30 seconds,” it was actually eight long minutes before the boy miraculously coughed up mucus and started breathing. Gale said that within five minutes, the baby was laughing as if nothing happened.
The boy, meanwhile, was taken to the hospital and given a clean bill of health by doctors. You can mark this maintenance job a success.
Afterward, the boy’s mother recounted to Standard.co.uk the frightening moments leading up to bolting outside and screaming for help.
“We were at home when all of a sudden my son started struggling for breath, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went blue.”
Who knows what would have happened without Gale’s quick-thinking heroics?
One mother would rather not think about it.
“It was very scary but Jack was so calm and did a brilliant job. I’m just so grateful they were there as I dread to think what could have happened.”
A Baby Is Saved and a Hero Is Born
Gale’s employer, Thames Water, was also singing his praises.
“Jack’s quick thinking saved this baby’s life. We’re just so pleased he was in the right place at the right time here to help. He’s a hero,” said a company spokesman.
Two things stand out to me in this story. First, this is either a case of Gale being at the right place at the right time or timed to be at the right place (divine intervention, anyone?)
The second is the importance for us all to know basic, life-saving techniques like Gale drew on. Along with their beautiful baby, all parents should be sent home with that.
Luckily in this case, a man with the right instincts and the motivation to act saved the day.
This article was originally published by Goalcast
