By Rozanna M. Martinez
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 7-year-old boy who nearly drowned at a West Side pool Wednesday owes his life to a mysterious bystander who performed CPR and another person who helped after he was plucked from the water, according to authorities and witnesses.
The boy’s name was not released, and the identities of the female bystanders remained unknown to authorities, who said the incident unfolded just after 1 p.m. at the Paradise Hills Community Center pool.
Daniel Sanchez said his 8-year-old son, Isaac, saw the boy do a back flip into the pool, but the boy hit his head on its edge before reaching the water. He was then seen floating on the water.
The boy was in the 5-footdeep area of the pool, Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Breanna Anderson said.
A lifeguard entered the water to rescue the boy and lifted him to the deck, where another lifeguard was waiting. The second lifeguard checked for a pulse when a woman identifying herself as a nurse intervened and administered CPR. A second woman, who also identified herself as a nurse, came to the scene wearing a stethoscope to help.
He was in the pool for 5 to 10 seconds before he was taken out, said lifeguard Darian Murren, who witnessed what happened after the boy was pulled out and called 911.
Sanchez said, “I think he knocked himself out.”
Murren said there was a party at the community center at the same time, and some of the attendees were nurses.
Albuquerque Fire Department units arrived within minutes and found the boy lethargic, but alive, according to a department news release. Fire personnel administered oxygen, and the boy became more alert. He was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition and kept for observation late Wednesday afternoon.
The boy might have suffered a cracked rib due to the CPR compressions, Anderson said.
The boy is enrolled in the Paradise Hills Community Center’s summer program, community center manager JR LaBerge-Esparza said.
The boy’s mother and his sister were at a park behind the community center when the incident occurred. The family could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
The quick thinking by the women saved the boy’s life, officials said. Now, the county is asking that the nurses who helped the boy come forward so they can be thanked. Anderson can be reached at 468-7344.
Copyright 2011 Albuquerque Journal