Boys saves 15-month-old cousin from drowning
Bryce Alderton
A 15-month-old girl was able to go home Tuesday, two days after her
14-year-old cousin pulled her out of the pool she had fallen into.
Sunday was Chris Rathkey’s 14th birthday.
His present, successfully saving his young cousin Mia Buck’s life.
He was celebrating with a dozen family members at the house he lives
at on Danube Drive in Huntington Beach, said his father Mark Rathkey. The
party was ending at about 5:30 p.m. when Chris looked out of a sliding
glass door to the backyard and saw the pool rippling, Mark Rathkey said.
While family members were inside saying their goodbyes the
15-month-old Mia crawled through a seven- by 12-inch doggie door that
leads to the backyard, Mark Rathkey said.
“Chris saw her floating face down,” he said. “He dove in and grabbed
her. My wife came into the garage and my brother-in-law got the phone.
Seeing her little blue body -- it was the worst nightmare. I sat there in
disbelief. Your body goes into shock.”
Paramedics from the Huntington Beach Fire Department responded to find
Mark Rathkey performing CPR on the child.
After the fourth round of breaths she began gasping for air, which is
when Rathkey said he knew she had a pulse.
“You’re 100% focused on the kid,” he said. “I never thought I would
have to use [CPR]. When you drop to your knees instincts take over.”
By the time paramedics arrived Mia had already vomited and was crying,
said Martha Werth, spokeswoman for the Fire Department. “It’s amazing
that a 14-year-old thought to [look down in the pool],” Werth said. “Not
a lot of people would walk up to the edge and look. In that situation
every minute counts.”
Mia was initially transported to Huntington Hospital and later sent to
Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
Hospital officials said she will not suffer any long-term effects,
Werth said.
Huntington Beach averages five “drowning-related incidents” a year,
Werth noted.
“The message here is that even though it’s not summertime you have to
be careful with children and swimming pools,” she said. “You have to have
constant supervision.”
Rathkey considers his son a hero.
“He said he doesn’t want to take the credit,” Mark Rathkey said. “He
said it was teamwork to bring the baby back. His instincts to do what he
did and dive into the pool were amazing. He’s my boy.”
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