A 5-day-old New Jersey boy is in critical but stable condition after he stopped breathing suddenly over the weekend, possibly because of a bacterial infection, his parents say.
The boy's grandmother called 911 Saturday afternoon to report the Hopatcong infant appeared jaundiced and "non-reactive," while the child's mother, Andrea Suarez, frantically tried to revive little Maddox.
Suarez said it seemed like a minute later when "Hopatcong police literally kicked my front door open and just took him."
Officer Bob Haffner, who is also an EMT, told NBC 4 New York he couldn't find a pulse. Haffner began to perform CPR and then he and his colleague, Lt. Bob Unhoch, transferred the boy to an ambulance.
Police dispatchers in Hopatcong alerted dispatchers in nearby Roxbury to the emergency, and Roxbury police stationed officers at every intersection on Route 46 on the way to St. Claire's Hospital in Dover.
Maddox's parents say his condition has improved since he was admitted to the hospital, and that doctors are investigating whether he may have a bacterial infection.
Haffner says he was glad to help.
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"It's one of those things where you go home that night and you think about it, and you go, 'It worked,'" he said.
Suarez said there are no words to describe her gratitude.
