A retired nurse is being called a hero after saving a three-month-old baby's life on a Spirit Airlines flight.
Tamara Panzino was going from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Orlando, Florida, when a flight attendant asked over the loudspeaker if there was a doctor on board to help a baby who had stopped breathing.
"I was reading my book, not paying attention and had my earbuds in. And I heard a flight attendant say, 'We have an infant not breathing,'" Panzino told WESH.
Panzino jumped into action and ran to see if she could help.
"I had no idea whether the baby was choking, if the airway was clear," Panzino told WESH. "I did not know what I was dealing with. Saw an infant. The head was back. Blue lips and her skin turning blue. Clearly in distress. Not breathing. And my heart just dropped."
Panzino gave the baby a sternal rub, which is an aggressive shake of the chest to make it cry or take a deep breath. Moments later, the baby began breathing.
"Spirit had everything we needed right onboard, and before we knew, within a few minutes, the baby was home free. The baby was going to be good. The color came back. I heard breathing sounds. I heard (a) heartbeat. Oh, my gosh, total relief," Panzino told WESH.
Panzino added that she doesn't consider herself a hero; she was just doing the right thing.
"When you have to step forward and do what's right, you do it. It was just a happy story, and it made me feel really good," she said.
Ian Cassette, a meteorologist for FOX 35, was also on the flight. He posted video to Twitter of the smiling baby and her father at the front of the plane, as passengers clap and cheer.
Cassette said the parents were "terrified and had never experienced this before."
"They praised the positive energy of the plane and the heroic actions of Tamara for saving her," he said. "Also the flight attendants should be commended for their quick action for helping as well!"
In a statement to FOX 35, a spokesperson for Spirit Airlines thanked the "crew and guest for the quick response."
"Our Flight Attendants are trained to respond to medical emergencies onboard and utilize several resources, including communicating with our designated on-call medical professionals on the ground, using onboard medical kits, and receiving assistance from credentialed medical professionals traveling on the flight," the statement said.
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