One lucky baby owes a Michigan man her life after his quick thinking saved her from almost certain death. Unlike some heroes who wear a cape and have superpowers, all this new hero needed was a knowledge of CPR and a turkey baster.
Bill Hogenson was walking along in his neighborhood in Ludington, Mich. when he suddenly heard a distressed voice mention that a baby was in trouble. Eager to help, he ran over to see what was the matter.
"We heard one of the babysitters talking on the phone to 911 saying that the baby is purple and not breathing," Bill Hogenson told KLTV. "At first I was in disbelief that did I just hear that. So I started jogging towards her."
What Hogenson found was a near-lifeless five-month-old Nessa Shoup at her parent's house. He immediately attempted CPR, but she did not seem to be responding to any of those efforts and so he decided that more drastic measures needed to be taken.
"So I went to the drawer and found a turkey baster and used the turkey baster to clear her nasal passage and her airway," Hogenson said. "Patted her on the back some more, then spun her around and got a good look at her. And she quit crying and she smiled at me. And I knew that we were going to be in the good."
According to her family, Shoup has a slowly-forming epiglottis, which occasionally causes her to choke on food and saliva. The epiglottis is a flap that directs air to the lungs or food to the stomach. If it is not properly developed, it's much easier for food and saliva to go down the wrong passageway or get stuck.
It turns out that a turkey baster was actually the perfect tool for the job. Relatives of Shoup have already said they find the circumstances surrounding her rescue to be miraculous, and as for Hogenson? Well, it certainly puts a smile on his face these days.
"Ever since then, when I see her she gives me a smile," the new hometown hero told the Daily Mail. "It kind of gives us a bond for life."