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Boy, 11, suffering allergic reaction saved by Cumberland County deputies

"If it wasn't for those deputies, he would be dead right now," the boy's mother told NEWS CENTER Maine.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

RAYMOND, Maine — The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office on Monday praised three deputies who helped save a boy's life in Raymond earlier this month.

In a release, the sheriff's office said Jaysen Lewis, 11, was choking at the time, but the boy's mom, Roxi Lilac, clarified to NEWS CENTER Maine that Jaysen was choking for air because he was experiencing acute asthmatic anaphylaxis.

Deputies Christian Stickney, Daniel Place, and Tyler Leach responded to the scene on June 4, according to a release from the sheriff's office.

Stickney was the first on the scene, arriving at about 9:51 p.m. He found Jaysen blue-faced and flailing around on a bedroom floor, officials said.

Place arrived about two minutes later than Stickney, and as Place was speaking with adults at the scene, Jaysen "went completely limp and stopped breathing," according to the sheriff's office.

"I broke down crying and was screaming bloody murder in the front yard," Lilac recalled. "I was thinking he was gone."

Stickney couldn't find the child's pulse and began to perform CPR, which was effective. Jaysen gasped, and officials were able to find his pulse, Monday's release stated.

Leach arrived at the scene about four minutes after Place. Shortly after Leach arrived, Jaysen again went limp, stopped breathing, and had no pulse, officials said. The deputies again began CPR: Stickney performed compressions, Leach stabilized his head and opened his airway, and Place administered breaths to the boy. They continued CPR for about four minutes until he had a pulse and was partially conscious, according to the sheriff's office.

Rescue personnel from Raymond arrived a short time later and took the child by ambulance to a hospital. He was treated and released on Wednesday, according to his mother, who said he is now on additional medication and steroids in the wake of the incident.

Lilac said Jaysen's allergic reaction was caused by a combination of factors, including his asthma. She said Jaysen's very allergic to pollen, and his bedroom window was open at the time. She also said a humidifier in his room needed a filter change and thus may have actually been gathering and spreading dust and pollen throughout his bedroom.

"It should be noted that when this call came into the Cumberland County Regional Communication Center, Raymond Rescue was already busy on another call for service and the ability of other Raymond EMS personnel to respond was limited," the sheriff's office said in Monday's release.

The sheriff's office said Lilac has asked that all three deputies stop by her home at some point in the near future to introduce themselves to her son.

"I want to thank them and shake their hands, and Jaysen does too," Lilac said. "If it wasn't for those deputies, he would be dead right now."

Each deputy will be receiving a “Life Saving Award” at a later date, according to the sheriff's office. These awards are submitted by the sheriff's office's staff in writing and then reviewed by a group of employees that make up the agency's awards committee. Once the requested award is granted by the committee, the sheriff will present it to the deputies during the agency's yearly awards ceremony.

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