It was early in the morning when an alarm sounded and Moriah Dyck rushed into her five-month-old son’s room.
"Alerting me that my son had dropped below a specified oxygen level,” Dyck said.
"Every mother's worst fear: he was facedown, not moving in his crib."
Dyck said her son Kingston had managed to roll over onto his stomach for the first time and a sheet that was in the crib got wrapped around his face.
"We caught it in enough time that just the jolt of picking him up, he was able to bring in a breath of air," she said.
She said EMT’s told her that Kingston likely suffered a seizure after he began to suffocate.
"The paramedics said he was likely moments from being on his way out."
Kingston is okay and Dyck credits the monitor, a smart sock that keeps track of the baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels, for saving her son’s life.
“Look into purchasing this device. It doesn't matter how careful you are. We thought we were so careful,"
The monitor was a gift from her mother, purchased secondhand for $200 a few months ago.
"I remember going back to feelings I had as a Mom many years ago,” said Jane Dyck, Kingston’s grandmother.
She bought it to give her daughter peace of mind from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
"I was just so grateful, that this device was available,” Jane Dyck said.
“That all things fell into place for the life of my grandson,” she added.
But a local doctor does not encourage parents to rely on these devices.
“The data actually shows the alarms that go off are more often false alarms,” said Dr. Joanna Maclean, an associate professor at the University of Alberta.
“So it can raise anxiety having a monitor that’s going off frequently, but not being helpful.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada has several tips for parents to reduce the risk of SIDS.
Still, the Dyck family wants other new parents to be aware of the type of technology available and would like the government to consider subsidies.
“If we can help one person then our mission is accomplished,” said Jane Dyck.
