Aurora First Responders Get Recognition for Helping Mother Resuscitate Toddler in Colorado

Aurora First Responders Sharon Thompson Cardiac Arrest Phoenix award

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Oct 06, 10:36 am

Photo: (Photo : JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP via Getty Images))

A mom from Aurora and several first responders were recognized on Tuesday, October 4, for their quick thinking that saved the life of a young boy who was experiencing cardiac arrest back in August, Sentinel Colorado reported.

According to a city press release, Sharon Thompson was at home on the afternoon of August 11 when she found her young son, Alexander, who was 15 months old at the time, unconscious and not breathing.

Thompson immediately called 911, and she was connected with emergency communications specialist Julie McKay. McKay talked the worried mom through the process of administering mouth-to-mouth ventilation and chest compressions to revive her toddler son. She also dispatched paramedics to the house to help Thompson revive her son.

First responders recognized after reviving baby Alexander

Soon after, Aurora Fire Rescue battalion chief Joe Hill and Aurora police officer Daniel Kennicutt arrived at Thompson's home. They were able to restart the heart of young Alexander through cardiopulmonary resuscitation, according to CBS News.

Tee Than and Kenneth Mackey from ambulance service Falck Rocky Mountain and Patrick Taylor, Michael Wu, Dave Hamam, and Bryant Snow from Aurora Fire Rescue continued to provide medical care for the little boy, who was transported to the hospital.

Thanks to the swift intervention of Alex's mom and the first responders, the tot made a complete recovery and is neurologically intact, according to the city release. The group was honored on Tuesday with the city's Phoenix Award. The award is given to individuals who successfully resuscitate a person in cardiac arrest and go on to recover fully.

Thompson said during the ceremony that was attended by members of their family that she was celebrating Alexander's life. She added that she thought her baby was gone, but he came back to them to have this wonderful moment.

Thompson pays tribute to first responders for saving her son

She thanked the first responders who helped resuscitate her son, saying they were heroes. Thompson noted that without each of the first responders' great work, experience, and skill, her son would not be here today. She said she was celebrating them, adding they might think they are normal people, but they are heroes.

Mom Sharon was also recognized for her heroic actions that day. She received an award for being calm under extreme duress and performing life-saving measures on her son Alexander before the first responders arrived.

This is not the first time the city has given McKay this honor. She has been recognized twice this year with the Phoenix Award, with McKay taking the honor back in March after helping save the life of a woman who also went into cardiac arrest, according to Colorado Public Radio.