Quick action by unit clerk saves baby’s life

Not all heroes wear capes. Sandra Casanova, a unit clerk for the day surgery department is proof of that. While COVID continues to be a top concern around the country, Casanova’s actions serve as a reminder that our hospitals are about so much more than one pandemic.

She tells her story below:

One night in April, Casanova was serving as a screener at the main entrance of Methodist Hospital | Metropolitan, when a young woman and her baby girl arrived at the hospital to have the baby’s lab work done.

Lab techs were still prepping the draw, when one of them came rushing out of the exam room yelling that the baby had stopped breathing.

The rapid response team was called, but Casanova wasn’t waiting.

“The baby was lying on the lab table turning purple,” she recalled. The mom was in the room as well. She was very nervous, crying and yelling, ‘Please help my baby!’”

Casanova began patting the baby on the back, one of the methods prescribed by several health care organizations for baby’s who are non-responsive.

Those pats did the trick.

“The baby started to spit up formula from the mouth and nose,” Casanova said.

As color began to return to her face, Casanova assured the mother that her baby girls was going to be alright.

A few minutes later the rapid response team and ER personnel arrived. Their quick review of the situation confirmed what Casanova had told the mother, who began crying “tears of joy and gratitude,” Casanova said.

It wasn’t until after the ordeal was over that Casanova was able to take in the situation.

“I shed a few tears and thanked God for being by my side,” she said.

And with that, she returned to the screening station.

There are those in the hospital who say Casanova is a hero. She, however, believes her actions stemmed from a higher calling: “I was serving humanity to honor God.”