Mom’s CPR Training

It’s a moment no parent ever wants to think about – their baby suddenly, unexpectedly in mortal danger. Moriah Gaddis survived this nightmare with her newborn son, Arthur, because of her knowledge of infant CPR.

As a nurse, Moriah knew infant CPR but when Arthur was born early and admitted to the Bryan NICU, she asked nurses for a refresher. That request may have saved her son’s life.

Arthur's Delivery

Moriah and her husband, Koby, married three years ago. They have two sons, Oliver, 21 months old, and Arthur, now 10 months old.

“I love being their mom and watching them grow up,” she said. “They’ve changed so much in such a short time frame, even though I feel like I just gave birth to both of them.”

Moriah has Type 1 diabetes, which comes with higher risks during pregnancy. About a month before Arthur’s birth, Moriah became sick. She required more insulin than usual and her doctors were worried about the effects on her baby. They delivered Arthur early at about 35 weeks, on November 26, 2025, by C-section.

When doctors delivered Arthur, he struggled to keep his oxygen levels up. He was sent to Bryan NICU for treatment.

“When he was in the NICU, the whole team was great,” Moriah said. “I’m a nurse, but I’m not a pediatric nurse. I know what some of the monitors and terms mean, but I don’t know everything because babies are different than the patients that I usually treat."

“I really appreciated that the NICU nurses didn’t assume that I knew everything.”

Arthur spent nine days in the NICU. After he was discharged, the next few weeks of his early life were smooth.

"Lord, please don't let my baby die"

On January 7, Moriah had just finished feeding Arthur. She placed him in his infant chair and went into the kitchen to clean his bottle. She heard him cough and thought that he had spit up. She went back to him and saw that he was completely pale.

She knew right away that he was dead.

She immediately lifted him out of his seat, called 911 and started doing CPR.

“In the moment, I just knew what to do thanks to my recent training, and I, shockingly, stayed calm, even though I don’t remember a lot of it,” she said.

Because of her quick reaction, she re-started his small heart. Lincoln Fire and Rescue arrived and transported Moriah and her baby to Bryan Medical Center.

“I was praying that whole time, just saying ‘Lord, please don’t let my baby die.”

In the emergency department, his oxygen saturation would not stay at healthy levels so he was admitted. About eight hours after admission, Arthur was sent to Children’s Nebraska.

“We didn’t know if he was going to die again,” his mom said.

At Children’s, he was diagnosed with two viral infections. He was on a ventilator for a while as he recovered.

The uncertainty was excruciating for Moriah and her husband.

“I just kept thinking, ‘Am I ever going to hear him cry again?’” she said. “The nurse and the mom in me made me feel like I should have done more. I should have protected him from this ever happening.”

Many Hospital Visits

Arthur’s breathing stopped again while he was at Children’s. The team there was able to bring him back. His condition improved, so he came off the ventilator and was discharged. That night, Arthur started turning blue from lack of oxygen, causing his parents to rush him back to Bryan.

The unpredictability of his condition remained, as he had further episodes and trips to the pediatrician and emergency department at Bryan, with occasional transfers to Children’s.

“Every time we would go home, we thought he was ok, but then we would take five steps backward,” she said. “Koby and I were racking our brains to figure out what was wrong.”

Eventually, tests revealed a vallecular cyst in the back of his throat. The rare growth fills with fluid, and, in Arthur’s case, can grow large enough to block the airway.

Doctors treated the cyst through marsupialization – cutting a small slit in the cyst and stitching it open so that the cyst can’t re-fill with liquid.

Arthur’s medical journey continued from there. He had more hospital trips because of RSV and other viral infections in April. They remained at Bryan in the pediatric unit because Moriah and her husband wanted to keep their son close to home. Moriah also liked having him on the same campus as her work, so she could visit him easily on breaks.

The Importance of Infant CPR

For three months, the Gaddis’s went through an unimaginable, heart-wrenching experience with their son’s health. Today, Arthur is a happy, healthy baby. He and his brother spend their weekdays at daycare located on Bryan East Campus. Moriah loves to have them close while she’s at work.

Members of his care team often see Moriah in the hallways of the medical center, and they ask how he’s doing.

“It’s nice to know that the people treating my son care about him as much as I do,” Moriah said.

Moriah’s hope in sharing her story is for all parents to consider learning infant CPR in case they are their child’s only option in an emergency situation. “I’m a healthcare professional, but if a parent isn’t, they might be scared of doing it,” she said. “Knowing how to save your child’s life, if they need it, can really give parents peace of mind.”

CPR Education & Certification

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