Contributed by Tom Odegaard, Executive Director, Evergreen Safety Council
I received this testimonial from the parents of a boy who nearly drowned in a swimming accident. Another life saved because two individuals were trained in First Aid/CPR!
These two young lifeguards have been submitted for the Governor's Life Saving Award.
On October 31, 2010 our family was swimming in the busy Pro Club pool when we found our 4 year old son, Mikey, floating face down. Another boy had grabbed his swimming noodle, and not knowing how to swim, Mikey sank below the water and began drowning. My 9 year old son noticed Mikey face down and called for me. I grabbed him and put him on the side of the pool. He was purple, limp and had no pulse.
The lifeguard, Talor Green, had been admonishing other children in the pool for misbehaving at the time. When I put Mikey on the side of the pool, Talor was there instantly. He did a quick assessment and began CPR on Mikey. Although Talor had been trained in CPR, he had never done it in a real-life situation. Soon after he began compressions, Danielle Van der Baan arrived with a mask to do mouth to mouth resuscitation. She and Talor worked as a tight team, counting together. Danielle kept checking for a pulse and finally got a good blow into Mikey’s lungs. Water came spilling out and his eyes opened. They rolled him on his side as the water drained from his lungs. Talor told me to get in the pool and talk to Mikey since he was hardly conscious. Within a few seconds the paramedics arrived and gave Mikey oxygen.
Mikey was taken to Seattle Children’s hospital and released the next day with no complications. One of the doctors noted that the CPR did not injure Mikey and complimented the work of the two lifeguards.
Mikey is a very special boy. Our family is a Christian family. We had gone to the pool this day after church. Later, in the hospital my wife found Mikey’s Bible memory verse from Sunday School in his coat pocket: “The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life” Psalm 121:7. We believe that God must have great plans for Mikey since he gave him a second chance at life.
We want to honor these lifeguards for saving Mikey’s life by nominating them for the Governor’s lifesaving award.
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