LEWISTON, N.Y. — A New York man acted quickly and decisively to help save the life of a 2-year-old boy whose mother was frantically trying to get him to a hospital.
Susan Rozanski said her son, Kasper, had never been sick. That changed on April 22.
“He was running a really high fever so I was driving on my way to urgent care,” Rozanski told WGRZ. ”As soon as I pull on to the (New York) Thruway, I noticed his face was down a little bit and his face was like a purple and his lips were blue. I had never seen anything like that in my life.”
Panicking, Rozanski pulled her car over to the side of the road and tried to flag someone down for help, the television station reported.
“I was just so hysterical,” Rozanski told WGRZ. “All I knew was that I had to hurry up and get a reaction out of him and see if he was alive.”
That is when Ryan Suitor showed up. Suitor, whose LinkedIn profile lists his occupation as a school counselor for BOCES North Tonawanda Learning Center, sprang into action.
“All of a sudden, this white SUV pulls up, and he cut in right in front of my car and was so close,” Rozanski told WGRZ. “He immediately knew what to do and calls me over to walk me through all of this.”
“I said just get in the car, just get in the car,” Suitor told the television station.
Suitor drove the distraught mother and her son to an area hospital.
“I could smell his tires burning. He said his car was smoking after all this,” Rozanski told WGRZ. “He stayed with me when I went to the hospital before they could call me back to tell me he was OK, my son.”
Kasper Rozanski had a severe case of Roseola, a common virus, the television station reported.
In an interesting twist, Suitor and Rozanski realized they had a common bond.
“She’s like call my husband, call my husband. She’s yelling out his name and the gentleman, I went to school with him in high school,” Suitor told WGRZ. “I recognize the name and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I know you.’”
Familiar or not, Rozanski was grateful for the quick assistance.
“I wish I could give him a reward or something but nothing seems like it would be appropriate for saving my child,” Rozanski told WGRZ.
“I would just hope that somebody would act the way I would,” Suitor told the television station.