Hospital security helps save baby from allergic reaction

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) - When a 6-month-old baby stopped breathing and was rushed to the hospital by his parents, a security guard stepped up and medical staff stepped in.

"It was like out of a movie – she came running in, screaming ‘help me! Help me!’" said Mike Hartzler, the security officer at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township.

Hartzler jumped into action, grabbed the baby from the mother, and ran to a doctor. 

He located emergency room physician Abby Waterfield, who had just gotten off duty.

"I'm like ‘just give me the baby, we got it, we got it,’" Waterfield said. "As I picked him up out of his arms, he definitely wasn't making any sound. He wasn't breathing at that point in time."

The doctor and nurses began suctioning, until…

"As I started suctioning he actually started to throw up," Waterfield added. "He gasped for air and we heard his first cry –which all of us in the medical field– big relief."

Turns out the baby, Gianni Caushi, had an allergic reaction. He had only ever had breast milk until that night – when he tried formula for the first time. 

Fortunately his mother, Adela Caushi, is a nursing student who recognized what was happening.

"When I heard him cry, I felt a relief  – huge relief," Gianni's father, Erild Caushi, said.

Gianni's family lives right around the corner, so they drove to the hospital. However, generally, doctors advise to call 911 is such circumstances.

"That's who's going to help you the most and get whomever it is, your loved one or yourself, to us the fastest," Waterfield said.

Gianni's parents also want to make sure other parents are aware of the signs of an allergic reaction.

"Rash, hives, shortness of breath, scratching, itching, vomiting – those were really big cues," Adela said.

"It was a very stressful situation and to go from there to when he started crying in the ER to now is amazing," Hartzler said. "Amazing."