Pamela Rauseo pulled over last month on the side of a Miami highway to give her 5-month-old nephew CPR, events that now have lead to his life-saving diagnosis.
Sebastian de la Cruz, a premature baby born with respiratory issues, made headlines when Rauseo stopped her SUV along Miami's Dolphin Expressway on Feb. 20 and screamed for help. She began CPR right then and there, something she hadn't done for years.
"I don't know how I remembered what to do. ... I just knew I couldn't let him die," she told ABC News.
Sebastian was resuscitated twice, with the help of Officer Amauris Bastidas who arrived on the scene, and then immediately brought to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The newborn was reunited with his mother, Paola Vargas, and doctors announced that his condition was stable.
Since the dramatic photo made headlines, Vargas announced that Sebastian had cysts removed from his trachea to help with his breathing, according to the Miami Herald.
"We finally got to the root of what was causing his condition and his difficulty breathing. Had it not been for that incident the doctors would not have performed such an invasive procedure," Rauseo told reporters. "That is the only way we would have been able to determine what he had."
Vargas said that she does not know what she would have done without her sister.
"I thank God, I thank my sister every day," Vargas told reporters. "When I wake up and I see my baby I'm so happy. "
That day began like any other. Rauseo was driving Sebastian to his doctor's appointment as a favor to her sister, and while waiting in traffic the newborn stopped breathing.
Rauseo's story has helped create awareness of the importance of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training. The Red Cross will recognize her efforts on March 13.
