Miracle

We witnessed a miracle on Friday—the life of a little boy was saved right before our eyes.

My friend Nikki and her 5 boys came over for a play date. With temps in the 100’s, and a pool in our back yard, swimming was the natural option. The boys had a great time—in and out of the pool for the better part of 2 hours. Nikki and I had been pool side (feet in the pool) for a bit. It was getting time to wrap things up for the afternoon, so we moved to the chairs right by the pool while Nikki got her baby changed back into his diaper. Checking the pool, Nikki asked “What’s that at the bottom of the pool?” Time stood still. In the back of our minds, we knew it couldn’t be a child—maybe just a towel. Then she said, “Is that Peter?” Peter is 5—Barik’s age. He isn’t a good swimmer. Nikki dove to the bottom of the pool to retrieve her lifeless son. She placed his rag doll like body on the deck of the pool and started doing compressions. Peter was not moving. He was not breathing. His lips were purple. Nikki screamed to call 911. Frantically, I ran to the house and was pounding on the locked sliding glass door (it locks automatically) screaming “Let me in!!! Let me in!!!” It seemed like an eternity. No one was coming. I then yelled “Call 911!” I knew that would get someone to the door a little faster. Someone unlocked the door (I still can’t remember who). I ran to the kitchen where Paul stood with a questioning look on his face. “Peter drowned!” I grabbed the phone, dialed 911 and we both ran back to the pool. Nikki was still doing compressions. I was on the phone with 911 at this point. Paul assessed the situation, trying to get his bearings, and immediately asked Nikki for Peter’s full name. He proceeded to give Peter a blessing. Before doing anything else, Paul gave Peter a blessing. How many people would think to do that first? The blessing was very short and to the point—Paul blessed Peter to breath. Paul then gave Peter 2 short breaths, and then Peter was breathing. His breathing was very shallow and labored at first, but he was breathing. His eyes were still rolling to the back of his head, but he was breathing. Now we had to sit back and wait for the paramedics. Soon Peter was crying. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to hear that sound! Before the blessing, Peter was lifeless. No breathing. No life.

The paramedics were here within minutes. They brought Peter over to the grass to give him oxygen and do more work on him. Nikki continued to tell him that he was going to be ok. She would get him swimming lessons. This would never happen again. He was going to be ok. These men were here to help him. He cried to whole time.

The paramedics took Peter out to the ambulance where they continued to monitor him. A helicopter came to fly Peter to St. Joseph’s hospital (a trauma hospital). This hospital would take at least 40 minutes to drive to. They were there in 8 minutes. Any time there is a near drowning with a child, they are monitored over night. The next question on my mind was whether Peter would have brain damage. How long was he really under water? How long had his brain been without oxygen? The police officers asked me that question several times. I wish I knew when he went under. I wish I could tell them how long he had been under water. If I could tell them that, they would be at my house.

I think that most people who know me know that I am very cautious around water. I never leave kids in the pool area without an adult. We have a pool fence that is always closed and locked (with the key in the house) when the pool is not in use. I know how easily something can happen. There are always drowning stories on the news. When we have friends over, they know I can’t relax around the pool. You can never be too careful. And yet, look what happened. We never left the side of the pool. This near drowning happened right in front of us. And we didn’t see it. We were wrapping up the fun afternoon—Nikki was getting a diaper on her baby, thinking about what to make for dinner. I was chatting with her. In the mean time, Peter had jumped into a ring in the pool, and slipped through. There were 3 other kids (all 6-8 years old) swimming right above Peter’s lifeless body. Nobody saw him. The mistake we made was getting too comfortable around the pool. We enjoyed each other’s company too much. How easily can that happen to any one of us?

I share this story for a couple reasons. The first reason I share this is to acknowledge the power of our Heavenly Father in saving Peter’s life. I am so grateful to have a husband who is a worthy priesthood holder who can administer blessings of not only healing, but life saving. I am so grateful that a blessing was the very first thing he thought to administer to our sweet little friend. A blessing definitely wasn’t my first thought. I felt frozen, terrified. Paul’s first impression of giving Peter a blessing saved his life. The amount of time Peter was under water isn’t known for sure. But given his location when Nikki found him, (on the bottom, nearly 5 feet under) it indicates that he was under water for a longer period of time (1-2 minutes) rather than a shorter period of time. Peter has no residual effects of the near drowning. His mental state is perfect—his brain was not affected. The blessing Paul was prompted to give Peter not only saved his life, but saved his quality of life.

The second reason I share this story is so that others can learn from the mistakes that were made Friday. Always be 100% attentive when kids are in the pool.

There are several blessings that have come from this experience. First is obvious, Peter is still alive and perfect. Second, we were all able to witness a miracle. And the rest are wonderful learning lessons we are actively attaining—getting refresher courses on CPR, knowing that I will be attentive at all times around the pool, even designating a life guard when several adults are involved—you go sit over on that side of the pool for 15 minutes, and then we’ll switch.

I know how easily this could have turned into a very tragic situation. I hope by sharing, it will prevent a tragedy of this sort in your own lives.