Sometimes we think that we have everything planned, that we know what to expect, but sometimes thing happen without warning and we’re left gobsmacked and feeling ill-prepared.
One couple experienced something no parent ever should. Their baby daughter’s life was in danger. Fortunately, they were at a car dealership where the employees knew what to do!
Courtney Gentry and her family were at the Briggs Kia Dealership in Topeka, Kansas. They had been there for quite some time and the family was preparing to leave.
While Jake Rosebrough, Courtney’s fiancé, was still inside the shop, finishing some paperwork, Courtney decided to go and get their baby settled in the car.
The two-month-old baby girl named Oakley was sitting quietly. Courtney sat down in the driver’s seat, waiting for Jake, when she suddenly heard a strange sound from behind.
When she turned around, she saw that her baby was turning purple. Gurgling sounds were coming from Oakley. It looked like she had trouble breathing.
Panicked and worried, Courtney immediately dashed into the shop with her baby and screamed for help. One of the employees at the shop, Josh Kennedy, felt the hair on his arms rise when the alarmed mother ran inside with a limp baby. It was an alarming moment, but, thankfully, the receptionist knew what to do. Kegann Gideon laid the two-month-old on a table and performed CPR.
Kegann didn’t feel a pulse, and the baby girl was still not breathing. But she didn’t give up. She and Josh continued to perform CPR on Oakley, while praying to God that the baby would be all right. The paramedics arrived and the baby was taken to a hospital where she later underwent a series of tests.
Courtney couldn’t believe what had happened. The couple later learned that their daughter had Tachyarrhythmia Ventricular Fibrillation, a rare heart condition. Basically, Oakley went into cardiac arrest at two months old.
While Courtney certainly wished this didn’t happen to her daughter, she was also thankful that they were still at the car dealership when it happened.
In an interview with a local station, she said:
“I couldn’t have been more thankful that we were still there, because if it had been just seconds longer we would’ve been leaving.”
They could have been on the road, with no one to help them. Instead, they were in the right place at the right time. Courtney’s dad later set up a GoFundMe campaign for his granddaughter. Baby Oakley is safe, thanks to the car dealership employees.
Courtney was inspired by the employees’ quick action, and she hopes their story will also inspire others to learn CPR and first aid.
