"A young mother picked up her two-month old son from his car carrier seat to carry him through the security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport, but when the mom lifted him up, she saw that the boy wasn’t breathing. She immediately sought help from her co-travelers and shouted for help when she realized her attempts at rousing her son were unsuccessful. Morales heard people screaming for help, she knew if she didn’t act quickly, the outcome was going to be grim." ~ Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson
Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021
Transportation Security Administration Security Officer Cecilia Morales, of Newark, is being heralded today as a true hero after she jumped over the Newark Airport checkpoint conveyor belt rollers to save the life of an infant boy who was not breathing.
Morales has worked as a trained EMT for over 10 years in North Jersey and had previously performed the Heimlich on adults and children. She only began her Newark Airport job in October and this was the first time she had performed the life-saving technique on an infant.
"The mother was so nervous and I knew if I didn’t get over there, it wasn’t going to be a good outcome. I jumped over the checkpoint conveyor belt rollers and she gave me the baby. I performed the infant Heimlich maneuver on him.” ~ TSA Security Officer Cecilia Morales
The TSA was able to capture all of it on video:
“I saw the video afterward. It was the first time I’ve ever seen myself in action, saving a life. It was mind-blowing to watch. I felt that my training and experience just took over.” ~ TSA Security Officer Cecilia Morales
Heimlich Maneuver
Choking is a leading cause of accidental death in our country when food obstructs the body's airway and causes suffocation.
- An average of 140 children die from choking on food and objects yearly.
- The Heimlich Maneuver is a technique which employs abdominal thrusts to lift the diaphragm and expel air from the body's lungs which in turn causes the foreign object to be expelled from the airway.
Morales described that she held the infant carefully to keep his airway open and then placed him face down on her arm while patting him on the back.
- When the infant boy did not respond, Officer Morales tried again, and that time he started to breathe.
“The mother was too nervous and in shock to hold her son, so I carried the infant through the walk through metal detector and waited for the pediatric EMT to arrive to give the baby some oxygen a short time later." ~ TSA Security Officer Cecilia Morales
CPR AND HEIMLICH TRAINING
North Caldwell Police Officer Sue DePoe own RS Dispatch One LLC where she trains officers lifesaving techniques including the Heimlich Maneuver and CPR and provides emergency medical dispatch certification.
- DePoe also trains babysitter lifesaving skills and offers community First Aid classes.
"This is really wonderful news. Officer Morales' actions show that you are never too young to learn the skills of CPR and Heimlich." ~ Officer Sue DePoe, owner RS Dispatch One LLC
For further information, contact Officer DePoe:
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Morales Receives Federal Praise
TSA’s NJ Federal Security Director Thomas Carter praised Officer Morales’s quick reactions and called them "inspiring" adding “two months on the job and she’s literally a life-saver,”
“If Officer Morales did not utilize her critical thinking, knowledge and quick response, perhaps we could have had a terrible outcome. In the moment Officer Morales was selfless, and her priority was to save a life. We are proud to call her one of our own.” ~ TSA Manager Ayrana Frazier
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