WASHINGTON 鈥� It was Thursday afternoon and Queen Anne鈥檚 County Deputy First Class Ryan Davidson, a school resource officer at Stevensville Middle School, had to leave work early to be at a meeting at the Centreville, Maryland, headquarters.
He had just left when a 911 call came in about a 2-month-old boy in cardiac and respiratory arrest.
鈥淪ince I was right there, I just started heading down as fast as I could to the address,鈥� said Davidson. He was the first to get there, arriving in less than two minutes.
鈥淚 knocked on the door, heard the mom yelling to come in,鈥� said Davidson. On the couch was the mom and her baby boy, and Davidson said 鈥渉e was blue and unresponsive.鈥�
鈥淭he way he looked when I got there in the house, it was pretty scary鈥� he admitted.
And it鈥檚 because of such situations that police officers are taught CPR and infant CPR at the academy. It鈥檚 a certification that deputies continually train to keep.
鈥淚 kept just saying 鈥楥ome on, little buddy.鈥� I don鈥檛 know why,鈥� admitted Davidson. 鈥淛ust kind of like, in the moment, you just want them to come back so badly. Just give some kind of indication that he鈥檚 still, he鈥檚 still with us.鈥�
Eventually the baby started responding, and his color improved as medics arrived. An ambulance took the child to the hospital, but by that point, because of Davidson鈥檚 quick response, CPR was no longer needed. At last word the child was still in the hospital, but his condition had stabilized, which brings some hope to the situation.
鈥淚 still think about [and wonder] how鈥檚 he doing,鈥� said Davidson, who said he wasn鈥檛 ready to breath any sigh of relief as the ambulance sped away on Thursday until he knew the boy was doing better.
Davidson, who doesn鈥檛 have any kids of his own, said 鈥淚鈥檝e always liked kids, they鈥檙e just fun to be around.”
He said his work as a school resource officer at Stevensville Middle School helps provide an early, positive interaction between kids and law enforcement. And now he can add another positive to the list: a 2-month-old boy whose introduction to law enforcement was a life-changing event.
