ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - What started as a routine trip to the pediatrician quickly turned into a mother’s worst nightmare.

Kimberly Blackshear said her infant son, Keyng, began showing signs of something more serious after daycare workers noticed he was congested. But it wasn’t until later that day that things took a frightening turn.

“Right after the breastfeeding, his lips turned blue purple,” Blackshear said. “After he burped, he kind of choked a little bit.”

Moments later, she rushed him to the pediatrician, where his oxygen levels were found to be dangerously low.

From there, it became a race against time.

At Phoebe Worth Medical Center, nurses said the team quickly realized the severity of his condition.

“When we hooked him up to the monitor, the oxygen saturation was low,” Phoebe Worth Nurse Manager, Nina Gunn, said. “He first was interacting and then he got a little lethargic, so we rushed him to the trauma room at that point.”

As Keyng’s condition worsened, Blackshear said fear took over.

“I didn’t want to lose my baby. I did not want to lose my son,” she said. “I was willing to do whatever it took to basically get him where he needed to be.”

Inside the emergency room, multiple teams worked simultaneously to stabilize the infant.

“Every nurse, respiratory, X-ray, even registration, steps up,” Gunn said. “Basically, it’s all hands on deck.”

Another nurse described how quickly Keyng’s condition could change.

“He got better for a little bit… and then, just out of nowhere, he started de-satting,” another nurse said. “It took, from registration all the way to the flight crew, to get that baby where he needed to go.”

Blackshear said that in the middle of the chaos, the support from nurses made a lasting impact.

“They constantly had to reassure me that he was going to be okay,” she said. “They prayed with me… everybody was just overwhelming with support.”

Keyng was eventually airlifted for specialized care in Macon, Ga., where doctors diagnosed him with a rare congenital heart defect. He later underwent surgery in Atlanta.

Now at 9 months old, his mother said you wouldn’t even know what he’s been through.

“He’s a charmer… you wouldn’t even know nothing was wrong with him if you didn’t know his story,” Blackshear said.

Looking back, she credits the quick response from the team in Worth County with saving his life.

“They did not hesitate,” she said. “They instantly went to working on him… and I feel like that is what saved him.”

For Blackshear, those terrifying moments are something she will never forget, but neither is the care her family received.

“For other people to be fighting alongside you for your child, it means a lot,” she said.

Keyng continues to recover. His mother said her only son is a reminder of how quickly life can change, and how the right care, at the right time, can make all the difference.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.