Cashier credited with saving baby after mother collapses at checkout

A quick-thinking store clerk is being credited with saving a baby after her mother collapsed while suffering from an epileptic episode. Jessica Heinonen, who suffered a bruise on her head in the ordeal, said she doesn’t remember anything except that she was holding her daughter before she collapsed, Denver 7 reported.

Heinonen, who suffered her first seizure at 9, also said she typically feels a seizure coming on, but this one had no warning.

“That’s kind of what scares you the most, is the fact that you can’t do anything about it,” she told Denver 7.

Rebecca Montano, a cashier at Farm Crest Milk Stores in Arvada, Colorado, was on hand to grab Heinonen’s daughter before she fell to the ground. Because of the epilepsy, Heinonen cannot drive and has to have someone around her whenever she is with her daughter.

“It’s sad not to be able to spend time with my daughter too much whenever I want alone time, and have mommy and daughter time,” she told Denver 7.

She said she was thankful Montano acted quickly to protect her daughter from any danger, and that she is speaking out to raise awareness of epilepsy.