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Officer who saved baby’s life becomes her Godfather

Posted at 9:39 AM, Oct 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-11 09:39:05-04

MERIWETHER COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia sheriff’s lieutenant has accepted the role of Godfather for a child whose life he saved.  Lt. Kenneth Knox, of Meriwether County, Georgia, detailed his story on his Facebook page.

“I am so overwhelmed at the public outpouring and support. Ma’Yavi Parham is now my Goddaughter which blesses me as a person and a man,” he wrote. “I am the one who was blessed with her being brought into my life. She is a beautiful child and to know I will see her grow into a beautiful woman who can be what ever she wants.”

Ma’Yavi came into Lt. Knox’s life in September when he responded to a call for a choking child.

“I was dispatched to a residence to a child choking, it was this beautiful little princess,” he wrote on Facebook. She was turning blue and fading fast. Mom and dad tried CPR with no luck and when I arrived she was not breathing. The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY touched me and I knew what to do. I did reverse CPR and was able to suck the cereal out of her throat and she began breathing again. She smiled at me for a second and then starting crying which was music to my ears.”

One week later, Ma’Yavi’s parents asked Knox to be her Godfather.

“I swear I will forever be your guardian and love you with all my heart. I will be there for your first day, when you graduate school AND COLLEGE, and even what ever you want my little angel,” he wrote. “Out of my 25 years being a cop this is my greatest and most profound accomplishment and it made every second of those 25 years worth it all. I am forever humbled and changed by this. Little miss Parham will forever be a part of my life.”

Knox, who is running for sheriff in Meriwether County, said he has received well wishes from around the world.