Sheriff’s Dep. Henry Senez Jr. receives St. Bernard Kiwanis Life-Saver Award for reviving infant who had virtually stopped breathing

Dep. Henry Senez Jr. holds the Kiwanis Life-Saver Award with his wife, Melissa, to his left, and they are surrounded by sheriff’s deputies and club officials. From left in the front row are Maj. Adolph Kreger, Kiwanis member Shirley Pechon, Senez and wife, Sheriff James Pohlmann, Capt. C.J. Arcement and Col. John Doran. In back, from left, are Sgt. Dick Beebe, Lt. Ray Whitfield, Lt. Robert Broadhead and Kiwanis member Mitch Perkins.

Dep. Sheriff Henry Senez Jr. is presented the St. Bernard Kiwanis Club Life-Saver Award by Mitch Perkins of the club.

Dep. Henry Senez Jr. and wife, Melissa, after the Life-saver Award ceremony,

Knowing he had no time to hesitate, Dep. Sheriff Henry Senez Jr. fell back on instinct and training to restore a a heart beat to an infant boy who had virtually stopped breathing in the child’s Arabi home in 2012.

On Aug. 24, 2012, about 5 p.m., Dep. Senez, a 4-year veteran with the Sheriff’s Office who works in the Patrol Division, was dispatched to a home on Angela Avenue in Arabi regarding an unknown medical emergency.

He found a woman who was frantic and inconsolable because her infant boy, only months old, was unresponsive and not breathing. She told the deputy her child was premature, had developed a nasal infection and then suddenly he had stopped breathing at their home, and she called the Sheriff’s Office.

Senez’ quick actions in the next minutes of the emergency, managing to massage the chest of the tiny child until he revived a pulse saved the infant’s life without brain damage from lack of oxygen, as sometimes happens.

Dep. Senez was honored the night of July 23 with the St. Bernard Parish Kiwanis Club’s Life-Saver Award for his important work.

Senez, in accepting the award from Mitch Perkins of the Kiwanis Club, said he knew he had to do something rather than just wait for emergency medical technicians to arrive by ambulance and Fire Department first-responders.

“It was hard at first,’’ Senez told Kiwanis Club members, because of the situation of the child not breathing and the mother being emotional. “But you go back to your training,’’ and do what you have to try to do, he said.

“He was turning dark blue and had just a very faint pulse,’’ Senez said. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the deputy began CPR on the infant, administering chest compressions as well as assistive breathing.

Deputy Senez continued his efforts for several minutes, unaided, and ultimately reestablished a slightly better pulse on the infant. When he learned from the mother that the child relies on assistive oxygen via a “nose tube” due to its premature birth – which had resulted in underdeveloped lungs – Deputy Senez reinserted the tube supplying the infant with oxygen.

“I heard him starting to try to suck in more air.’’

The Fire Department’s first responders arrived moments later and took over from the deputy.

The Fire Department captain who had been on the scene later contacted the Sheriff’s Office to make sure that superior officers knew Dep. Senez’ quick actions both saved the child’s life and prevented the likelihood of severe brain damage.

The child, after being taken to a hospital, recovered.

“I didn’t know until the next day he was being released from the hospital and was all right,’’ said Senez, a native of Meraux who lives in Violet with his wife, Melissa, and their children. She attended the ceremony with him.

“I felt like I had accomplished something,’’ he recalled, “more than you do on a day to day basis.’’

Sheriff James Pohlmann told the audience the department is proud when an officer does something special. “It’s not every day you have the opportunity to save someone’s life’’ as Dep. Senez did, the sheriff said. He agreed that in such a situation the officer “goes back to what you have been trained to do.’’

Sheriff’s deputies and parish firefighters are recognized by the Kiwanis Club with the Life-Saver Award in recognition of courageous service to the community.

Attending the ceremony for the St. Bernard Sheriff Office besides the sheriff and Senez were Col. John Doran, commander of enforcement operations; Maj. Adolph Kreger, head of the Patrol Division; Capt. C.J. Arcement, deputy head of patrol; Lt. Robert Broadhead, Lt Ray Whitflield and Sgt. Dick Beebe. Also participating in the ceremony for the Kiwanis Club was Shirley Pechon.