Courtesy Photo | New York Naval Militia Marine Lance Cpl. William Kong, left, and New York Guard Pfc....... read more read more
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NEW YORK, New York-- NEW YORK -- Two New York state defense force members used their civilian-acquired medical skills to save the life of an eight-day-old infant at a New York City hotel housing migrant asylum seekers on Nov. 11, 2022.
New York Guard Pfc. Robil Rahyab, a former Emergency Medical Technician who is now a New York City corrections officer, and Naval Militia Lance Cpl. William Kong, a volunteer firefighter in Queens, acted quickly to administer CPR to the baby, who had stopped breathing.
Working together, the two men got the infant’s heart beating again, calmed the upset family, communicated the situation to the 911 operator, and provided information and assistance to the ambulance which arrived soon after, said New York Guard Lt. Michael Rehbaum, the officer-in-charge of the 72-member detail they were serving on.
“They took the initiative, without a second thought, and saved the baby’s life,” Rehbaum said.
Rahyab and Kong were on duty at The Hotel at Times Square as part of a 745-person New York National Guard state active duty mission to assist New York City in coping with more than 17,000 migrants who have been bused to the city from Texas on buses paid by Texas state government.
The migrants, who have come from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala and other Latin American countries and requested political asylum, are being housed in hotels by New York City.
New York Military Forces members are in these hotels around the clock, providing hot meals to the migrants, letting them in and out of their rooms, and providing a sense of stability, Rehbaum said.
The New York Guard and New York Naval Militia are both state defense forces whose members augment the New York Army and Air National Guard during state missions.
The New York Naval Militia is comprised of 2,500 members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Reserve who also volunteer to serve concurrently in the Naval Militia. They put the skills they acquired in federal service to work to New York State.
The New York Guard, which traces its history back to World War I, is a state volunteer force whose 400 members augment work with New York National Guard troops in emergencies.
Both Rahyab and Kong are new to their services.
Kong, a member of the Marine Corps Reserve’s 6th Communications Battalion, said he joined the Naval Militia because he wanted to help with the migrant assistance mission.
“So far, honestly, I love it,” Kong said.
Rahyab just completed his week of New York Guard initial training in August. He too volunteered for the migrant assistance mission because he wanted to help.
“I volunteered to see how operations work. I wanted to see firsthand what is going on,” Rahyab said.
On November 11, Kong and Rahyab were on duty in the lobby when one of the migrant families came in. They were upset and speaking Spanish, which neither man is fluent in. One person was talking on a cell phone.
As Kong and Rahyab listened, they realized that the call was to a 911 operator. The operator was trying to confirm the location of the caller.
They also realized that one person was holding a baby and the baby wasn’t moving. At this point, Kong recalled, Rahyab went into action.
He picked up the baby, who was wrapped in blankets, unwrapped her and checked for a heartbeat, and took charge.
“I have full trust in him at this point,” Kong recalled.
Rahyab, who has been certified as an EMT for 12 years, realized the infant was not breathing and had no heartbeat. He began performing CPR on her.
He’s administered CPR to adults many times, Rahyab said. But this was the first time he’d done so on an infant.
It’s a different technique, he said.
Rahyab was also talking to the 911 operator, who wanted to know what the infant’s heart rate was. He asked Kong to help him time the heart beats.
Kong turned on the stopwatch application on his phone and kept track of time while Rahyab counted the heart beats.
Then Kong returned to trying to calm the family and keep them from crowding around Rahyab so he could work.
The ambulance arrived in about three minutes, Rahyab said. He continued CPR and explained the situation to the ambulance crew and helped them administer oxygen to the little girl in the ambulance .
There were six to eight people all trying to get into the ambulance, so Kong tried to get them out.
The infant was taken to Saint Luke’s Hospital, treated and was back with the family in a few days.
“I am happy that I could help them, because they were frozen and in complete shock,” Rahyab said.
He’s got a six month old son, so he understand how distraught the family was, he added.
Rehbaum, their supervisor, said the two men had performed perfectly.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the way that they responded to this emergency, “he said.
| Date Taken: | 11.23.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.23.2022 12:59 |
| Story ID: | 433900 |
| Location: | NEW YORK , NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 1,397 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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