DAVENPORT, Fla. (WSVN) — A 911 dispatcher and deputy in Osceola County were honored for their actions when they helped a 9-year-old boy’s life from a situation where seconds likely meant the difference between life and death, and the tense moments were caught on a 911 call and body camera video.
Just after midnight on Oct. 12, the victim found himself struggling to breathe after he suffered a severe allergic reaction during a visit to Central Florida.
“Yes, my son is passing out. I need an ambulance,” his fearful mother told the dispatcher.
Osceola County Sheriff’s dispatcher Richard Calderale answered quickly, recognizing the child was in anaphylactic shock.
“We’re coming as quick and as safe as we can,” he said.
“He was having an asthma attack,” said the boy’s mother.
Calderale successfully walked the victim’s parents through lifesaving steps to keep his airway open until help could arrive.
Minutes later, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Michael Romero-Perez reached the vacation home in Davenport to find the child unresponsive inside of a car and in cardiac arrest.
“Hey, buddy. Keep breathing. Come on,” Romero-Perez said in bodycam footage.
Without hesitation, the deputy began CPR, applying his automated external defibrillator, and continued lifesaving measures. He worked to restore a heartbeat and help the child breathe.
“Continue with compression. Press, press, press. There you go, press. Breathe, son,” could be heard in video footage.
Paramedics rushed the boy to a hospital and then transferred him to a different hospital that was better suited for his condition.
Deputies said the child made a full recovery, something doctors call remarkable, as well as a reminder of how seconds matter. Training and teamwork can make all the difference.
“They come probably to Disney, to the happiest place on earth, right? And here they are in Kissimmee, in our area, and they go into a medical emergency,” said Osceola County Sheriff Christopher A. Blackmon. “And I don’t think anybody, when they planned their trip, thought a medical emergency was going to happen. So, thank God our deputy and dispatch were able to coordinate through that and save this child’s life.”
Doctors say only about 13% of children who suffer cardiac arrest survive without facing life-changing complications.
Calderale and Romero-Perez were recently recognized by the Arnold Palmer Hospital for their lifesaving work. Romero-Perez was also honored with the Life-Saving Award at a ceremony held at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
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