It only takes a minute. You step away to check on an
overflowing pot on the stove or to answer the phone and before you know it,
your toddler is out of your sight.
That’s what happened to an Illinois mom last week and when Tabitha Hearn realized her 2-year-old son, Brendan was
missing and saw a door to the backyard was open her first thought was to check
the pool, which is where she found the boy, face down. When she pulled him out
he was already blue in the face, so she called 911 while starting to perform
CPR, as Brendan’s 9-year-old brother, Logan looked on. Although she
was working quickly, she was in a panic, without the composure needed in such
an emergency.
It was at that moment, when the worst might have happened
that Logan stepped in and took control. Having recently learned CPR as part of a junior lifeguard course,
the 9-year-old grasped the situation and told his mom she wasn't doing it right and to step aside. The little
boy remained calm, set his brother up the way he had learned in class and
started to breathe life back into Brendan. After a couple of breaths the
toddler spit up water and a bit of food and seconds later started to breathe on his own.
Moments after that, paramedics arrived on the scene and took
Logan to the hospital where he stayed overnight with his parents watching over
him. While the boy was not seriously hurt, he was unconscious until the second
minor miracle occurred. It wasn’t until Logan walked into the hospital room the next morning around 11AM and
urged his little brother to wake up that Brendan opened his eyes. From there on
it’s a happy story and we are proud to name Logan Hearn an
AmericanTowns Hero
this week. If not for his ability to remain calm and take charge the outcome
might have been tragic.
According to the medical staff at the Joliet,
Illinois area hospital where Brendan was taken, the boy would not have survived
much longer with so much water in his lungs.
Brendan is home now and he and Logan are
both back to running and playing as usual. Family, friends and neighbors
are all proud of Logan and grateful for the emergency personnel who arrived on
the scene within minutes to help save the boy's life.
Public and private pools are seeing their share of
activity this summer with the prolonged period of heat in many parts of the country, which is why local municipalities as well as the federal government have stepped up their efforts to promote
pool safety. According to the national statistics, “nearly 300 children under the age of five drown in residential and
public pools and spas each year.â€
It only takes a minute, even less, for a toddler to fall
into a pool. Not every family has a Logan standing by to perform CPR.
Are you trained in CPR? Do you think you would be able to perform the procedure in an emergency?