Mother of seven-week-old baby saved by Kerry gardaí says 'they deserve a medal'
Garda Ryan Hill and Garda Mark Cushen reunited with baby Precious. Thanks to their intervention, the family made the half-hour trip to University Hospital Kerry within 10 minutes, and an emergency team was waiting for them when they arrived.
A Limerick mother whose baby daughter’s life was saved by two Kerry gardaí has said the pair are deserving of a medal for their help during the incident.
Garda Mark Cushen and Garda Ryan Hill helped save seven-week-old Precious O'Loughlin earlier this month.
Precious's mother Donna was at home with her husband Joe earlier this month when the child started choking after a feeding. The pair noticed the infant was struggling to breathe and she soon became lifeless in their arms with her lips turning blue.
“My husband kept hitting her back and it wasn't working,” Ms O'Loughlin said.
"She started choking again and she went floppy, her tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth and she was this horrific grey colour. Her lips were blue, and we knew she was gone.
“I honestly thought she was dead; so did my husband.”
The mother of three from Athea, near the Kerry border, said she was in a "blind panic" and attempted to contact the emergency department at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee but, after failed attempts, decided it was best to contact the garda station.
“My husband said to me, ‘we have to get in the car and we're going to have to get her to hospital ourselves’."
After ringing Listowel Garda Station, they agreed to meet Garda Cushen and Garda Hill outside the station, which is on the way to the hospital. The gardaí arranged for a high-speed escort there.
“I decided to ring Listowel to give us permission to speed to Tralee because the last thing I wanted was to be pulled in on the road explaining and then we’d lose a window of helping Precious,” Ms O'Loughlin said.
“I asked one of them to sit in the back with me because I was just losing my mind at this stage. [Garda Cushen] got in the back with me and I said ‘please just take her and help her’. So he got her and he put her in his hands and he kept her roused and awake and kept her breathing,” Ms O’Loughlin said.
They arrived at the hospital within 10 minutes, a journey which should have taken over half an hour. They were greeted by an emergency team as Garda Hill had alerted the hospital.
Both gardaí accompanied Ms O’Loughlin into the resuscitation area, where they remained until the infant had been stabilised.
Ms O’Loughlin remained in hospital with her baby until last Monday night, where Precious underwent X-rays and scans, before it was revealed that she had suffered from aspiration pneumonia and GERD, a chronic digestive disease.
“Whatever way the stomach acid and bile mixed with the milk it made the milk really thick and it just got stuck and closed off her airways,” she explained.
After being sent home with a round of antibiotics, Ms O’Loughlin says the infant “still has a long way to go” as they await the results of a brain scan to rule out any neurological damage. She said it was “blind panic” that made her ring the gardaí, which ultimately saved Precious’s life.
Ms O’Loughlin is now determined to pay back the two gardaí for their willingness to help in her time of need.
The family was reunited with Garda Cushen and Garda Hill last week, in what was a “lovely” moment for all involved and it offered the family an opportunity to express their thanks.
“The guards just don’t get enough praise, they're seen as our enemies and you see all the bad stories, but... this is massive. I still don't think I've done enough for them, I genuinely don't,” she said.
“These boys definitely deserve something from their managers. They need something, they need a medal, they need an award or a plaque or something."
