Postal Clerk's CPR Saves 8-Month-Old at Arizona Post Office

When Kylie Vega stepped up to the counter at the Clifton Post Office on July 11, postal clerk Mary Schwarz noticed something was terribly wrong with the baby in her arms.

Nova, just 8 months old, was limp and turning blue. The infant, born with a congenital heart defect, had stopped breathing.

"The mom's like, 'There's something wrong with my baby,'" Schwarz recalled. "I just immediately went into healthcare worker mode."

Schwarz, a former registered nurse from New Mexico, grabbed Nova and quickly assessed her. No pulse. No breathing. She started CPR immediately.

Within 30 seconds of the 911 call, Lt. Shari Aguilar of the Clifton Police Department arrived. Together, they worked to revive the tiny patient, performing chest compressions and back thrusts in case something was blocking her airway.

Time was running out. Lt. Aguilar made a split-second decision to transport Nova in her patrol car rather than wait for an ambulance.

Schwarz held Nova in the passenger seat, continuing compressions as they raced toward the emergency room with lights and sirens blazing. Halfway there, Nova took her first breath.

"By the time we got to the ambulance bay, baby had a little bit of color in her chest," Schwarz said. "It was probably the scariest thing that I've ever done."

Nova was airlifted to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, where she underwent open-heart surgery on July 21 to repair a hole in her heart. Her parents, Kylie and Rudy Vega, had already been preparing for the scheduled surgery, but the emergency brought them down a week early.

Sunny's Take

For Mary Schwarz, years of teaching CPR classes meant muscle memory kicked in when it mattered most. "I really didn't have time to think," she said. "It really was all just instinct at that point."

Kylie can barely find words adequate enough to express her gratitude. "I appreciate everything Mary did, the EMTs, everyone at the clinic, and the flight nurses," she said. "Without them, especially Mary, I don't even want to think about what would have happened."

Nova's chest remains open as doctors wait for swelling to go down, but she's doing remarkably well. Her family hopes to bring her home to Clifton within the next couple of weeks, where a community of support is waiting.

Sometimes the most ordinary Saturday morning can become the day someone saves a life.