By Steve Neavling
A new children’s book explores the true story of a rookie TSA agent who leaped over a conveyor belt at Newark Liberty International Airport to save a baby who wasn’t breathing.
The book, “Baby’s Breath,” was published by J2B Publishing and written by James Brewster. It’s available for $10.99.
The author told Southern Maryland News that he took a creative writing class with his wife at College of Southern Maryland.
The book tells the story of Cecilia Morales, a trained emergency medical technician who joined TSA in late October 2021. She sprung to action when a mother screamed for help. Morales shouted instructions to the mother, “but she was so nervous and I knew if I didn’t get over there, it wasn’t going to be a good outcome.”
“I jumped over the checkpoint conveyor belt rollers and she gave me the baby,” Morales said in a news release at the time “I performed the infant Heimlich maneuver on him.”
Holding the 2-month-old baby to keep his airway open, Morales patted him on the back. After the first effort failed, she did it again, and the baby began to breathe again.
As an EMT, Morales previously saved adults and children with the Heimlich, but she never tried it on a baby.
Excerpt from the book:
“The mother looked up at Officer Kate.
“Thank you for saving my baby,” she said. “Thank God you were here. Thank you, thank you!”
Officer Kate thanked God that she had remembered her training for saving the baby. Officer Kate stood up straight and looked the mother in the eye. She gave a quick salute, and said, “Glad to do it!”
