By Shannon McFarland
Sarasota Herald Tribune
SARASOTA, Fla. — He may be only 10-years-old, but to the family of the 3-year-old girl he saved from drowning, Alexander Castanon is a hero.
Alexander was swimming in the pool of his apartment complex on Signal Pointe Circle in Sarasota on April 20, with other neighbor children and adults. Almost 6 p.m., neighbors had dinner on the grills by the pool as they relaxed and kept an eye on the children.
Three-year-old Natalee Lopez was in the pool with an adult relative and her 13-year-old sister while the girls’ mother was inside their home cooking. Natalee’s mother, Annette Estarza, 34, said the relative jumped from the pool when flames shot from a grill and others at the pool got distracted.
“She got distracted with the fire in the grill,” Estarza said. “She stepped out and everyone was paying attention to the fire.”
All it took was a few moments of distraction. With no one watching, Natalee took off her floating arm rings and jumped into the pool with just a flotation ring around her waist.
She wanted to swim with them like her big sister, she told her mother the next day. Still playing with the other children in the pool, Alexander was the first to notice Natalee’s flotation ring had slipped.
“I went under the water and saw her facing down,” said Alexander, who was honored Wednesday for his heroism. “I was so frightened.”
Alexander rushed to help pull her to the side of the pool, yelling for help. Natalee had already swallowed water and stopped breathing. Natalee’s relative ran over and began CPR, prompting the toddler to begin breathing on her own again.
One of the children ran to get Natalee’s mother, who arrived just before the paramedics.
“This little boy, he’s really a hero. Not many people would react that fast,” Estarza said. The family later visited Alexander to say thank you.
Natalee was flown by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center as a precaution. “She remembers getting in the helicopter and everything,” Estarza said. “She says it over and over all the time.”
Natalee stayed in the hospital over night for observation, to make sure she did not develop pneumonia. “She’s doing good, she’s doing great, thank God,” Estarza said.
Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino hailed Alexander on Wednesday for his quick thinking and bravery.
“The Sarasota Police Department applauds Alexander Castanon for his heroism,” DiPino said in a statement.And despite the scare for her and her family, Natalee had no problem getting in the pond to swim the next weekend -- although she now knows not take her floaties off, her mother said.
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