Kent Police lieutenant saves the life of newborn baby

KENT, Ohio (WOIO) - A family is counting their blessings after a Kent Police officer saved the life of their newborn baby.

“My baby stopped breathing!” a panicked father yelled over the phone to the 911 dispatcher.

It is every new parent’s worst fear. Around 1 a.m. Friday Devin Reynolds and Grace Kelly’s 1-month-old son Donavin suddenly stopped breathing.

The Kent couple said they were in their apartment on Stein Road. Their son was lying on his back on the couch next to his father when he suddenly woke up, turned red in the face, and stopped breathing. In a panic they ran out to the car to take him to the hospital and called 911.

“Okay, how old’s your baby?” the 911 dispatcher asked the mother.

“He is a month and two days,” she said.

“Is he breathing at all?” the dispatcher asked.

“He keeps breathing off and on,” said Grace.

The dispatcher tried to explain to the panicked parents how to perform CPR.

“We’re gonna have to put him on a hard, flat surface,” the dispatcher explained. “Is their something outside that you can put him on?”

“I don’t know how to do CPR!!” Grace exclaimed.

“I’m gonna talk you through it, okay,” the dispatcher said.

Before the parents could even get started, Lt. Ryan Gaydosh arrived on scene.

“So, when I came around the corner to Stein, I saw two people by a car basically assumed it was them came up and then saw the baby on the trunk of the car,” said Gaydosh.

In the 911 recording, you can actually hear when Gaydosh takes over and saves the baby’s life.

“The baby’s chest didn’t look like it was rising so I grabbed the baby really quick and put it face down tilted forward started giving it some back pats until I heard the baby cry, which was a good sign to me and flipped the baby back over onto it’s back so I could look in it’s mouth,” explained Gaydosh. “I saw that there wasn’t actually anything obstructing it.”

Gaydosh said he is just glad he was able to help.

Paramedics then took the baby to Akron Children’s Hospital to be checked out.

“Just knowing that the parents are gonna have the opportunity now to watch their baby grow up to be my kids ages, that feels good,” said Gaydosh.

The parents said baby Donavin is doing fine now. His mom said the doctors told her it was likely acid reflux that got stuck in Donavin’s windpipe. His parents said they are so grateful to the officer and the dispatcher for helping to save their little man’s life.

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