Mother says nurse saved her baby's life on airplane: 'She's a rock star'

Words by Elise Solé.

Mother Janay Flowers says she is indebted to a “rock star” nurse for saving her baby’s life on an airplane.

On Thursday, Flowers, a model from Florida was flying with her infant Nevaeh on American Airlines to Texas where her husband, a member of the U.S. Air Force, will be stationed, reported The Dallas Morning News.

Nevaeh, who had a slight fever, mostly slept on the three-hour flight. But 15 minutes before landing, the 11-month-old woke up crying.

“Suddenly, she started jolting in my arms,” Flowers, 28, tells Yahoo. “I stood up and pressed the call button and a woman ran over to my aid.”

Tiffany Lehman, 37, a registered nurse from Kansas, was traveling with her chiropractor fiancé Alvin Dodson, after attending a medical convention in Tampa.

They heard Nevaeh’s cries, and then, after calling for ice packets, stripped Nevaeh of her onesie and diaper and applied the cold packs to the back of her neck, groin and armpits.

Nevaeh’s seizure lasted seven-and-a-half minutes. “I laid her sideways on my lap because she was vomiting,” Lehman tells Yahoo. “Alvin ran to get oxygen and alert the pilots.”

But when the couple administered the oxygen, Nevaeh’s heart rate dropped to 60 beats per-minute —half the normal heart rate of a comparably-sized baby— and she stopped breathing.

“Nevaeh’s tongue was rolled back and blocked her airway, so I reached inside her mouth and swept the area with my finger,” Lehman tells Yahoo. “I thought she was going to die in my arms.”

With the crew keeping passengers calm and Flowers standing by her daughter singing, “You are my Sunshine,” Nevaeh started breathing again. However, another seizure came on and Nevaeh clenched her fists, turning blue and foaming at the mouth.

Lehman administered more oxygen and the plane landed in Dallas, where Nevaeh and Flowers were taken to Baylor Regional Medical Center in Grapevine.

“The doctor said Nevaeh’s seizure was isolated due to how fast her fever spiked,” Flowers tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Her risk for future seizures has doubled, but it’s still low.”

An American Airlines representative tells Yahoo, “We are grateful that Nevaeh is doing better and wish her and her family the best. This medical emergency last week highlights the tremendous care and professionalism of American’s team members, and specifically, in this situation, our flight attendants and DFW team. We are proud of our colleagues and are grateful to them and our customers, who also stepped up to help a family in need, for their quick actions.”

Flowers and Lehman befriended each other on Facebook over the weekend and will FaceTime on Monday evening, so Flowers can meet Lehman’s 13-year-old son and Dodson’s three-year-old daughter.

The family and crew members from American Airlines are all invited to Nevaeh’s May 19th birthday party.

“Tiffany is a rock star,” Flowers tells Yahoo. “God put us together.”

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