Sgt. Patrick Hildenbrand thought he was making a routine traffic stop – he had pulled over a speeding car and was not expecting to find Matthew Morgan, frantically telling the officer that his son was not breathing.
Morgan’s two-year old son, also named Matthew, had suffered a seizure and collapsed. The older Morgan grabbed his son and rushed to the nearest hospital. Matthew sped down streets, going faster than the speed limit, only to be stopped by Hildenbrand. But as soon as Hildenbrand realized what was happening, he knew that he couldn’t waste anymore time. He made the life-saving decision to not wait for an ambulance to arrive. Instead, he ushered the father and son into his police car, put on the sirens, and headed towards the hospital. And what’s even more amazing? He performed CPR while driving.
Hildenbrand describes how he did it. “I reached my hand back here as I’m driving, moved my body over and started doing all the compressions and feeling for a pulse while I could still operate the vehicle,” he said. Medical personnel took over as soon as they arrived, and little Matthew made a full recovery.
As for Hildenbrand? He doesn’t feel he’s a hero. “A lot of cops do crazy things to save peoples’ lives and don’t get recognized,” he says humbly.
But the doctors disagree. As we’ve heard and learned before, starting CPR as soon as you can has the biggest impact on someone’s survival.