ASHLAND — It’s something lifeguards are trained to do, but hope it never comes to that.
Raelene Harris, a lifeguard at the Ashland YMCA, performed CPR alongside an off-duty Mansfield Police Department patrolman, Travis Stantz, on an 11-year-old Hillsdale boy who was drowning Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Ashland Y.
The fifth grader suffered an asthma attack underwater and was seen at the bottom of the pool. Harris and Doug Emery, a friend of Stantz’s, dove into the water to pull the boy up to the surface.
Harris, who’s been a lifeguard for close to a year, was prepared to conduct CPR by herself, but was able to team up with Stantz, who is also trained in CPR. Stantz performed rescue breathing and Harris did chest compressions.
“The people who trained us (in CPR) were really good and they drilled into us that it’s very important that you know this and that you don’t just do it to pass the test, said Harris, an Ontario High School junior who is taking college courses at the Kehoe Center in Shelby and online.
“I didn’t even have to think about any of the parts of CPR; I just immediately went into it.”
This was Harris’s first time performing CPR, outside of training.
Meanwhile, Hannah Danison, a lifeguard at the Ashland Y who was working at the front desk, was told by Shala Parrish, another YMCA staffer who was off-duty at the time, that someone was unconscious in the west pool.
“I immediately grabbed the phone and called 9-1-1,” Danison said.
Danison, an Ashland High School senior and North Central State College student, met the first responders at the entryway, holding the door open for them and instructing them where to go. She informed her supervisors of the incident and helped ensure that the other swimmers were out of the pool and kept a safe distance away from the boy and emergency personnel.
“As a lifeguard here, too, I kind of went into lifeguard mode,” she said.
The boy had already regained consciousness by the time the medics arrived. Harris said he was able to respond to her questions when he came to.
The incident spanned mere minutes, though Harris said it felt like “forever.”
“When we teach lifeguarding, scanning and surveillance and the significant amount of time that it takes–especially if we have a passive submerged victim–to get them out of the water, revived, and with zero brain damage or anything like that is one to three minutes,” said Aquatics Coordinator Rebecca Elges.
“And with the way that he responded to the CPR and the resuscitation, that just makes me believe that the response time was excellent, because anything after three, four, five or six minutes, you’re going to see lasting repercussions, or they’re just not going to be resuscitated.”
Elges said she’s proud of her team, noting, “I am very confident that any member of our staff would’ve reacted the same way.”
The boy’s mother, who declined to be identified, said she is “beyond thankful” with how the situation turned out. Though, at the time of the incident, she felt “a ton of emotions,” she said.
The boy was transported to University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center, where doctors conducted a series of tests (CAT scan, X-rays and blood work). He was then transferred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for observation, his mother said. He stayed in the hospital overnight and was released Sunday night.
All of his tests came back normal, his mom said. And at this time, he’s past the secondary drowning point and is in what what’s known as the “safe zone.”
“You have an amount of time, one to 48 hours, where you are in primary drowning stage. It’s called dry land drowning,” Elges said. “You can actually have water in your lungs still and it can cause you to either blackout or not be able to catch your breath, which can lead you into cardiac arrhythmia, AFib (atrial fibrillation), or something like that.
“But once you get to 72 hours and beyond, the water starts to absorb and you’re in the safe zone.”
The fifth grader’s mother said he’s due for another doctor’s visit in about three weeks for additional X-rays to ensure that he’s doing OK.
He was able to go back to school Friday for a full day. His mother said he doesn’t remember the incident.
“The one thing that the doctor told me to do is get him into swimming lessons again so he’s not afraid,” she said.
Elges said this has been a great learning experience for the YMCA staff.
“We have taken a lot from this, and we’re going to continue to take a lot from it,” she said.
Harris said she’s thankful for her coworkers, who’ve been very supportive during this time.
“It’s like a family here,” she said. “Everyone supports each other.”
Employees from the Mansfield YMCA, where Harris previously worked, also reached out to her to see how she was doing, she said.
State Senator Larry Obhof (R-Medina) invited both Harris and Stantz to attend a Senate session, where they will be recognized. Also, the boy’s mother said his Cub Scout troop is planning on holding a special ceremony in April for the first responders.
Harris’s mother, Patti, said this was the “best case scenario for the worst situation.”
“Being Christians and believing that God ordains everything, we believe He placed certain people in the pool that were able to assist (Raelene), she said. “Praise the Lord (the boy) is safe and there are no lasting effects, which says to me that everybody did what they were supposed to do.”
