It’s every parent’s nightmare: you look over, and suddenly your baby isn’t breathing.

It happened to Erin Syfrid last fall. She was at work in a realty office in Louisburg, while her 10-month-old daughter, Maggie, sat at her feet playing with toys.

“I was discussing something with another real estate agent when Maggie coughed. I looked over at her and she was turning red,” Erin said. “She coughed again, gasped, and then nothing was going in or out. That’s when I panicked.”

Erin picked up Maggie, checked her mouth for a blockage, but didn’t find anything. Erin’s colleague said that there was a doctor’s office across the parking lot.

“I scooped up my daughter and ran out the door. As I was crossing the lot, Maggie’s body went limp in my arms,” Erin recalls emotionally.

The mom rushed her baby into Olathe Health Family Medicine – Louisburg, screaming for help.

Dr. Michael McGinnis and a number of other clinical team members ran into the lobby. Maggie opened her eyes and Dr. McGinnis pulled a tiny dried fern leaf from her mouth—something from a potted plant that Maggie must had picked off the ground while she was playing.

They took Maggie and Erin back to a room, where they supplied baby and Mom with oxygen and monitored them, including watching Maggie eat and drink, until they had fully recovered from the scary event.

Maggie was fine, and didn’t suffer any negative effects from her choking episode.

“The staff was just amazing,” Erin said. “Their ability to remain calm and help us immediately was astounding. I’m just so thankful they were there.”

Olathe Health Family Medicine – Louisburg is located near Price Chopper off W. Amity St. To learn more about the clinic, call 913-837-4299 or visit olathehealth.org/Louisburg.