UPDATE: Minutes That Felt Like Forever: Inside the Rescue That Saved a 16-Month-Old’s Life.

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Article by Budapest Civil Guard Association President, Pál Kardos. An update to our previous story: Two police officers and a civilian guard saved the life of a 16-month-old girl.

Now we would like to show what it was like from the inside – from the perspective of the participants.

What those who were there, who made decisions, acted, and took the weight of a child's life onto their shoulders in seconds, experienced. In the following lines, they recount – honestly, without frills – the feelings, fear, hope, and perseverance with which they fought through those few, seemingly endless minutes.

Sergeant Zsolt Stiller recalled the day that will forever remain memorable for him:

This day also started completely normally... until the radio spoke. The good mood disappeared in an instant – duty called. From the communication, I already felt that this was the situation for which we chose this profession. This was also included in the oath we took back then.

The call arrived around 19:55: all colleagues with Police Medic training must immediately head towards Vajdahunyad Castle because a small baby needed help. I will never forget this call. Bence and I just looked at each other, didn't say a word – we were already on our way. We were there within a minute, along with the Zugló civilian guards.

At first, I was relieved when I heard a lady running towards us with her crying child. I thought it was a false alarm. When we stepped up to the mother, everything was turned upside down in an instant. The child's body went limp, her breathing stopped. I had never encountered a situation like this – my heart squeezed, my stomach cramped – but I knew there was no room for fear now because a child's life was at stake. We didn't hesitate: I immediately took the girl from her mother, and together with civilian guard János Gréczi, we began to examine her. It was clear that she showed no signs of life, so according to what I had learned, I immediately started resuscitation.

When the little girl cried, that sound overwrote everything. It's hard to describe what we felt at that moment. I don't have children of my own, but I'm sure that the feeling a parent experiences when they first hear their child cry was similar to what hit us when the Spanish girl cried again.

In the meantime, Bence was directing the arriving units and announced the successful resuscitation over the radio. The little girl's crying gave everyone hope. We knew that continuous crying was a good sign. The Activity Management Center, upon hearing the child cry over the radio, congratulated us and indicated that the ambulance was already nearby.

Then there was silence again: she went limp again, not breathing. We shone a flashlight, stimulated her, then I performed chest compressions again. The minutes seemed like hours. Then she cried again – another sign of life, another weight off our hearts.

From then on, we kept her awake until the ambulance arrived. We escorted them to the hospital. The parents thanked us in Spanish – we didn't understand the words, but we understood their meaning. I told them with my phone translator: we were just doing our job, and we wish the little girl a speedy recovery.

We stopped for a moment in front of the hospital. Bence looked at me and just said: 'That was tough, but we did it.'

It still gives me the chills today when I recall it – but the fact that we could save a child's life makes every difficult moment forgotten.

Civilian Guard János Gréczi spoke about the thoughts and feelings swirling inside him during the minutes when a small child's life depended on everything:

Everyone is human, and there are situations that shake you deeper. This was one of them. One thing was going through my head the whole time with the little girl: when will the ambulance arrive. It was a few minutes, but it seemed infinitely long then.

What helped the most was that we knew each other, and everyone knew what to do. This allowed us to help most effectively.

After we came out of the hospital and I got into the car, I took a deep breath. ... in that exhale was everything: relief, tension, emotion. What was perhaps the biggest challenge was communicating with the parents. They only spoke Spanish, and the stress caused by their daughter's critical condition also greatly affected them.

We who were there will remember this extraordinary case for a long time.

And Sergeant Bence Németh experienced that minute-by-minute changing, tense situation from the inside:

The good mood we had in the car disappeared in an instant. We found the family, and when I heard the 16-month-old baby crying, I calmed down – then everything changed. The child was suddenly as if she had simply fallen asleep. In that second, a tightening sensation gripped my throat – it was a bit like trying to swallow a huge scoop of ice cream whole that wouldn't go down. Then events suddenly sped up. My colleagues immediately knew what to do in such a situation: my colleague and Janika Gréczi sat in the back seat of the civilian guard car with the child, and I was already communicating on the radio to urgently request a pediatric ambulance to the scene.

Once again, there was a great silence, and I saw the little baby quieten and her small hands suddenly begin to clench. I got the chills when I saw this, then I just said to them: Whatever you're doing, don't stop!

In that moment, I didn't have time to deal with my emotions, I just acted instinctively. When the staff of OMSZ (National Ambulance Service) arrived and started providing care, I felt a little joy inside.

After the baby's further fate was clarified, we stopped at the hospital door, I took a sip of water, and just said: 'That was tough, but we did it.'

In recognition of their outstanding performance during the resuscitation, Police Major General dr. Tamás Terdik awarded a commendation and reward to Police Sergeants Bence Németh and Zsolt Stiller, and a commemorative plaque to Civilian Guard János István Gréczi.

Congratulations, guys! Your courage and stand are a true example for us. 🫡