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TSA Officer Cecilia Morales had barely been on the job two months when she heard the commotion at Terminal C and began shouting instructions.
"They just kept passing the baby around probably because they were panicking," Morales's fiancé told Daily Voice.
Morales, a Newark resident who's been an EMT in North Jersey more than a decade, then vaulted a checkpoint conveyer belt, took the child and placed him face down on her arm, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.
She patted the boy on the back once -- no response.
She tried the infant Heimlich maneuver again, and this time the baby began breathing, Farbstein said.
“The mother was too nervous and in shock to hold her son, so I carried the infant through the walk-through metal detector,” Morales said.
A Port Authority EMT arrived and gave the infant oxygen.
"Once things settled down a little the mother said she just finished feeding the baby and didn't get a chance to burp him," said Morales's fiancé, who lives in Passaic County and also works for the government.
“I saw the video afterward,” Morales herself said. “It was the first time I’ve ever seen myself in action, saving a life. It was mind-blowing to watch. I felt that my training and experience just took over.
“She was so nervous and I knew if I didn’t get over there, it wasn’t going to be a good outcome.”
The mom, who was headed for Puerto Rico, declined medical attention for the child, saying she would do so when she arrived at her destination.
Meanwhile, there was praise all around for her child's guardian angel.
“Two months on the job and she’s literally a life-saver,” said Thomas Carter, TSA’s federal security director for New Jersey. “Officer Morales’s quick reaction and actions helped ensure that this family will have a happy holiday season. Her actions were inspiring.”
“If Officer Morales did not utilize her critical thinking, knowledge and quick response, perhaps we could have had a terrible outcome,” TSA Manager Ayrana Frazier added. “In the moment Officer Morales was selfless, and her priority was to save a life. We are proud to call her one of our own.”
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