A little boy is alive thanks to community members in Falmouth, Massachusetts, who were there when he desperately needed help.
The incident happened on Sunday at Falmouth Park, where first responders answered a call about a reported drowning at Grews Pond at approximately 2:30 p.m., Boston 25 News reported Monday.
Falmouth Fire said there was an unresponsive child at the scene who was not breathing after bystanders pulled him out of the water. However, those community members knew exactly what to do for the child and performed CPR.
According to the American Heart Association, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is performed during an emergency when a person’s heart quits beating.
It is important because it keeps the individual’s blood flow active and “extends the opportunity for a successful resuscitation once trained medical staff arrive on site,” the organization said.
When the crews arrived at the scene, they realized the four-year-old child was breathing thanks to the neighbors’ efforts.
However, it was not only adults who helped rescue the boy. A 10-year-old girl named Tatiana Rosa was swimming in the water when she saw the boy just beneath the surface, grabbed onto him, and hoisted him onto her shoulder before rushing toward the shore.
Moments later, a man named Sean Cushing and other people at the scene began CPR in an effort to save his life, and after three minutes passed the boy began breathing. He was eventually taken to a Pediatric Trauma Center after being stabilized. However, there was no word regarding his condition.
Tatiana’s mother helped with the lifesaving efforts and is extremely proud of her daughter and their neighbors, who came together during such a tense moment.
“We prayed the whole way home. We’ll pray tonight for him. Our thoughts are with his mother,” said Malinda Vandersluis.
According to the Fall River Reporter, there were no lifeguards on duty when the incident occurred.
A Vermont state trooper jumped into a freezing pond to rescue a little girl when she fell through the ice in December, Breitbart News reported, saving the child’s life.
Trooper Michelle Archer said, “There wasn’t a whole lot of thinking going on. Something was taking over — training. It was the opposite of panic.”