Suffolk police help save 4-year-old boy with breathing disorder

Suffolk Police provided lifesaving aid Thursday morning to a 4-year-old boy from Central Islip with a breathing disorder after the child turned blue and later had no pulse in the ambulance, authorities said.

Officers from the Third Precinct responded shortly before 9 a.m. to a home on Spur Drive North after a caller to 911 reported a child was not breathing, police said.

The boy, who suffers from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, had turned blue, officials said.

Officer Matthew Denicola provided CPR to the child, who was not identified, while officer Matthew Carrello assisted with care, police said. Officer Samantha Ventura, who speaks fluent Spanish, communicated with the child’s family, who spoke limited English, police said.

Members of Exchange Ambulance of the Islips arrived to take the boy to a hospital but while in the ambulance, Officer Makesi Oliver, a member of the Police Department's Medical Crisis Action Team, noticed that the child had no pulse. Oliver utilized an automatic external defibrillator on the child to regain a pulse, police said.

The child was taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore where he was listed in stable condition and is expected to recover.

People with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome typically take shallow breaths, particularly as they sleep, resulting in a shortage of oxygen and a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.