Diana Justice was sitting poolside at Chickahominy Riverfront Park, waiting for her sunscreen to dry when she heard someone yell “child.”
Sitting near the lifeguard’s stand, Justice looked around to see a man carrying an unconscious 5-year-old out of the water. For at least 20 minutes, the 33-year-old watched two young lifeguards perform CPR on the boy before a LifeEvac helicopter carried him away to the hospital.
Four days later, on Wednesday, 52-year-old Pam Mason said her 5-year-old grandson is “pretty much” back to normal. He was released from the hospital Monday night.
“He seems back to his old self,” Mason said. “He is a very alert, bright energetic boy who loves to play. He’s my pride and joy.”
Following the boy’s near-death experience, community members voiced concern about the boy’s condition on Facebook and other social media, requesting updates.
Justice, who is 30 weeks pregnant and lives in James City County, said she checked the news every hour for an update on the boy.
The boy was on a camping trip with his aunt, uncle, maternal grandparents, brother and sister Saturday when they decided to go to the pool at Chickahominy Riverfront Park.
The pool was busy. Children were swimming and going underwater, and there were multiple lifeguards on duty, Justice said. It was around 1:30 p.m. when the child went under.
Mason, the child’s paternal grandmother, said she is unsure how her grandson sunk to the bottom of the pool, but speculates he may have had heat exhaustion and fallen in. Temperatures reached 101 degrees Fahrenheit Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
The child is also still learning how to swim on his own, Mason said.
Shortly after hearing someone yell “child,” Justice saw the boy’s uncle carrying him toward a lifeguard. Justice once worked on an ambulance as an emergency medical technician, but said she had never seen a child look like he did in that moment.
“This boy was lifeless – I had never seen a child like that,” she said. “He was just limp all over, he had gone blue and everything.”
Justice watched the two young male lifeguards perform CPR for 10 minutes before she heard one say “I feel a pulse.” Both lifeguards are under 18 and in high school, Parks & Recreation Director John Carnifax said. A third female lifeguard at the scene, a college student, declined to comment for this story.
“I have been in these situations before as an EMT,” Justice said. “I at least have the medical experience to know that in that situation, the fact those teenagers could handle it like that – so professionally – was incredible.”
After lifeguards established a heartbeat, they continued assisting his breathing until medics arrived. Justice, her husband and stepson had moved away and into the shade.
“The next time I saw him, he was on a stretcher screaming,” she said. “And I was like, I’ve never been so happy to hear a child screaming in my life.”
About 10 minutes after James City County medics arrived, a LifeEvac helicopter landed on scene, Justice said. The boy was loaded into the helicopter and taken to Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond.
Mason said doctors first believed the boy would need to be hooked up to ventilator with a breathing tube until Wednesday, but were able to take the tube out Saturday night to let the 5-year-old breathe on his own.
Doctors also did not find any water in his lungs, which can often happen with people who nearly drown and cause pneumonia, she said.
His recovery has been quicker than anticipated, she added.
“He’s sitting a little more than he did before, but he’s been very active,” Mason said. “The doctors aren’t foreseeing any long-term injuries.”
Carnifax said the young lifeguards’ response was “outstanding” in the stressful situation. In the week following the accident, the director said all lifeguards would meet with department staff to debrief and discuss the way the pool accident was handled.
For Mason, she is thankful for those who helped her grandson at the pool and who prayed while he was recovering.
“There were a lot of prayers given, which we appreciate so much,” she said. “They definitely worked.”
Fearing may be reached at 207-975-5459.
Editor’s note: WYDaily initially had permission to use the child’s name and likeness in this article, but at the request of a family member not cited in the story, it has been removed.
