Mom thanks doctor who revived toddler at Newnan pool: 'He wouldn't have made it'

Newnan police honor doctor for pool CPR rescue

The Details

A picnicking physician from Venezuela rescued a pulseless 1-year-old boy from a Newnan pool by performing immediate CPR after surveillance video showed the child floating lifelessly within 90 seconds.

The Brief

A doctor picnicking in Newnan sprang into action to save a toddler who went under in shallow water, performing immediate CPR until he recovered.

Surveillance footage captured the tense 90 seconds from when the child was playing to when his mother pulled him lifeless from the pool.

Newnan police honored the Venezuelan physician at an award ceremony on the same Thursday both she and the rescued boy celebrated their birthdays.

NEWNAN, Ga. — A doctor picnicking with her family jumped into a Newnan pool and performed life-saving CPR on a toddler after he went under in waist-high water on a hot July day.

What we know

Surveillance video shows 1-year-old Maddox playing contently in shallow water before ending up lifeless and floating nearby within just 90 seconds.

His mother, Janay Shaw, splashed into the waist-high water and snatched her son's body from the pool.

Dr. Andrea Sansonnet, who was picnicking nearby with her family, heard Shaw's screams and rushed to help.

According to Sansonnet, Maddox had no pulse, was not breathing, and his lips were blue when she started immediate CPR.

What we don't know

Another bystander assisted during the emergency, though officials have not yet identified that woman.

Maddox is now 2 years old and thriving.

He celebrated his birthday on Thursday, sharing the exact same birthdate as the doctor who breathed life back into him.

Newnan police recently recognized Sansonnet's heroic actions during a community award ceremony.

Sansonnet is originally from Venezuela and is not yet practicing medicine in the United States because she is raising her own toddler, a little girl.

What they're saying

"At that moment, I grabbed my baby and just, I said, my husband, take the baby. And I just jumped in the pool, ran, and I took the baby. I put the baby on the floor, and immediately I started CPR," Sansonnet said.

Shaw expressed her ongoing gratitude for the doctor's quick response during the ceremony.

"I thank God every day, even when he's getting on my nerves, I'm just like, thank God. I just thank God that she was there cuz he wouldn't have made it," Shaw said.

A speaker at the ceremony noted the deep emotional impact of the rescue on the community.

"I think it touches everybody's heart a little different when it's a child. Our children are our future, that's the most special individual in our communities. It definitely hits a lot harder, hits home," the speaker said.

The Source

The information in this story was gathered from a FOX 5 News broadcast report by Doug Evans, who reviewed surveillance video of the rescue and interviewed Dr. Andrea Sansonnet, Janay Shaw and a speaker at the Newnan police award ceremony.