As a CPR instructor for over 10 years, people often ask if I have ever performed CPR. I always answered, "No, and I never really want to." But in July 2002, I had to perform CPR on my niece's 2-year-old son.
It was a typical situation where we had a family gathering with about 25 family and friends. After dinner, my niece, Ann, went inside to get something for a friend and when she came back out, she realized she didn't know where her 2-year-old son was. We all scattered to look for him and my husband went to the fence and looked at our neighbor's pool. He didn't see Cody, but told Ann to go check, as there were two large floating rafts. She found Cody floating on the far side of the pool, partially hidden by the rafts. He was very pale and had dark gray circles around his eyes that were fixed, dilated and glazed over. Needless to say, he didn't look well!
While looking for him in the house, I heard his mother scream. I picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1. Then I realized she was screaming my name. My husband grabbed the phone and pushed me out the door.
Cody was unresponsive. I could tell he wasn't breathing and I couldn't find any signs of circulation. Right away I began to give him CPR. At one point, I began to gag and I turned my head to cough. As I did so, my husband Clint took over giving breaths. I continued compressions until the paramedics arrived. I remember thinking how similar doing CPR on Cody felt like practicing on a junior manikin! Even though he never regained consciousness and never started breathing on his own, when the paramedics arrived, they hooked him up to the ECG and found he had a pulse!
Cody spent ten days in ICU on a ventilator, the first seven in a drug-induced coma. On the tenth day in the hospital, his intubation tube was taken out and he breathed on his own. About an hour later, he ate some pudding! He moved out of ICU and spent another week recovering in the hospital. He appears to have completely recovered without any signs of brain damage.
One day when I came to visit him, I was surprised to see a few nurses in his room. One of them told me they love to come to Cody's room. I agreed that he was a really cute kid, and the nurse replied, "No, you don't understand. We don't get drowning victims like this. We get drowning victims that go straight from ICU to the convalescent centers, due to the brain damage." She said, "It's because he had good CPR as soon as he was found."
We are all very grateful for Cody's recovery. Thanks especially to the firefighters and all the family and friends who offered prayers in Cody's behalf. Cody continues to grow and be an active happy boy!
Sue Lockhart has been a CPR instructor since 1991 and now runs Lockhart Training with her husband Clint. Lockhart Training is an independent training center for the American Safety & Health Institute (ASHI), the Emergency Care & Safety Institute (ECSI) and the American Heart Association. Lockhart Training offers classes in CPR/AED, First Aid, Babysitter Training, Pet First Aid and Bloodborne Pathogens. Call (858) 344-0475 to sign up for a class!