In April two Elmore County Sheriff’s office deputies arrived at a Titus home to a call of an infant in distress. David Salum and Elmore County Investigator Bill Wilson arrived to find a family giving 3-month old Veralee Grace Wooten CPR.
“We turned the baby over to her stomach to do the Heimlich and were able to clear the airway,” Salum said. “Once we got the airway clear, we could work on the breathing and circulation.”
Wilson was checking with the ambulance seeing how far out the medics were. But they were too far away — he knew he had to act.
“I made a decision to get in the truck while [Salum] was working on her in the back and go to the hospital,” Wilson said. “That was the quickest thing that I could think of to get her the help she was going to need.”
The vehicle sped down U.S. Highway 231 to the Elmore Community Hospital and ultimately the crew got the break it needed 10 miles into the journey.
“Once we hit the Collier Bridge she opened her eyes and started crying,” Salum said. “She probably wasn’t excited to see me, but we were excited to see her. It was a relief.”
Veralee was flown to Children’s Hospital, but a few weeks later, visited with Salum and Wilson at the sheriff’s department to thank them for their life-saving work.
“She has inherited two new uncles,” Veralee’s grandmother Tonya Kennedy said. “They will always be invited — proms, graduations. Her wedding, we want you there. We appreciate you Uncle Salum and Uncle Wilson.”