Officer hailed as hero for saving 9-day-old baby’s life
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PLEASANT HILLS, Pennsylvania (KDKA) -- Call it right place, right time or maybe even some divine intervention. While on routine patrol, a Pleasant Hills Police officer turned into a hero, saving the life of a 9-day-old baby.
The life-saving heroics happened along busy Route 51. Officer Kristin Mitrisin was flagged down by some frantic parents who told her their baby had stopped breathing.
Baby Olivia Schleicher, now 12 days old, remains in Children’s Hospital. She’s being treated for a heart condition. But she’s alive only because of Officer Kristin Mitrisin’s quick thinking and training.
“I just was doing my job that day. You know God put me at that place at that time. I’m just thankful that I was there to help them,” said Officer Mitrisin.
Joe and Jody Schleicher flagged down officer Mitrisin as she drove down Route 51 Saturday afternoon.
“He reaches out to me, the baby’s turning blue in her face and in her nose. So, he said, ‘please, my baby can’t breathe help me,'” said Officer Mitrisin.
So she takes the baby to the gate of her police pickup truck and begins performing CPR. It’s not an easy thing to do on an infant.
“You just use your two fingers, apply pressure down, and just keep going,” she said.
Then help arrives. A corrections officer pulls over to offer assistance. Officer Mitrisin has him pull out the defibrillator. But the baby didn’t need to be shocked.
“Continued CPR, the baby took a breath, then there was a couple more seconds, another large breath, and then we got a few more shallow breaths, and then she started crying. And that was the best sound to hear,” said Officer Mitrisin.
They didn’t wait for paramedics. The officer rushed baby Olivia down Route 51 to the nearby AHN neighborhood hospital. Officer Mitrisin had saved her life.
“Just thought, you know, what we have to do to get baby Olivia breathing. The mom said her name was Olivia, so I just kept saying ‘c’mon baby Olivia, we can do this.’ And I just kept doing the CPR on baby Olivia.”
Mom and Dad weren’t available for an interview as they tend to baby Olivia. A GoFundMe account has been set up to pay for her medical bills.
