A father in Traverse City used his training as a firefighter and paramedic, to save his own daughter's life.
Jeffrey Ballard's 8 year-old daughter suffers from asthma. She started having complications last week, and told her father she was having trouble breathing.
Ballard got in the car and rushed her to Munson Medical Center. The family lives 20 minutes away from the hospital. Ballard said, "At the halfway point, at that stop sign, she went unconscious, complete respitory arrest stopped breathing completely, she said, 'Daddy help me.' and then just slumped over".
Ballard knew she wouldn't make it to the hospital, but luckily the Long Lake Township Fire Department was nearby. Chief Andy Down said, "We were working giving him as many hands as we could helping support life functions, doing rescue breathing for her."
Firefighters were able to get an ambulance there, while Ballard was able to focus on one thing. He said, "I got to keep her alive, I gotta do what I need to do to keep her alive." He kept giving her CPR, even in the ambulance. "When they took over it wasn't I gotta do this I gotta do this, it was I gotta breath for her every three seconds, that was my whole mindset."
Ballard says saving his daughter was harder than anything he's had to do at work, but his instincts from training kicked in. "I honestly, I don't think I was calm but I had enough sense about me to get stuff done. Shes already been back to the fire station and its always great to see the fruits of labor that positive day that things will end very well.
Ballard's daughter had to spend a couple days in the hospital, but is back in school now.
