An infant is choking, and time is of the essence.

It’s a situation that is anyone’s worst nightmare.

For one member of the Lehighton Police Department, that circumstance became a stark reality.

A member of the department for 25 years, Sgt. Scott Prebozniak has basically seen and done it all.

But, on the afternoon of Feb. 17, Prebozniak was faced with that dreaded scenario that ultimately was a matter of life or death.

Soon after he began his shift, Prebozniak encountered a hysterical woman who arrived at the police station holding her 17-month-old daughter upside down.

Prebozniak said the baby wasn’t breathing, and looked grayish blue, so he took her and started delivering back blows, followed by finger sweeps in her mouth.

After what seemed like an eternity, the piece of food - believed to be a cookie - finally dislodged from the infant’s throat, a moment Prebozniak said he won’t forget anytime soon.

“It was total relief,” he said. “It felt like forever; but it was probably like 2 minutes.”

It all happened so fast that police didn’t even get the mother’s name. But Prebozniak said the mother was really thankful.

“She gave me a card, cookies, which was very nice,” he said. “They didn’t have to do that.”

Prebozniak credited the Lehighton Ambulance Association for their work with the department, and stressed the importance of knowing first-aid response.

“All parents should make sure they go for CPR first aid training,” he said. “If you have little kids, or take care of elderly people, it’s good to keep up with it.”

For his efforts, Prebozniak was recently presented with a letter of commendation by borough Mayor Clark Ritter.

“Scott determined what the problem was and he did it,” Ritter said. “It took like two minutes, but it probably felt like an eternity.”

Prebozniak said he was thankful to Ritter for the high esteem.

Ritter told Prebozniak the pleasure was all his.

“You deserve it,” Ritter said.