Deputy Saves Toddler From Drowning

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A deputy in Forsyth County, GA is being honored for his efforts to save the life of a toddler. The Deputy is now also working to help train others in the community to perform CPR in similar emergencies.

Deputy First Class Mike Nelson said that he heard screams from one side of his neighborhood pool party, shortly after he arrived.

His neighbors and friends had found their almost 2-year-old daughter, at the bottom of the pool.

“His daughter was not breathing and was blue in the face,” Nelson said, who helped the father pull the girl out of the pool, and started CPR.

Nelson has been certified for over 15 years, since his days as a lifeguard as a teenager. The toddler, however, was the youngest person for whom he had ever performed CPR. He believed the little girl was underwater for about 2 minutes and vowed to perform CPR until the paramedics arrived. Nelson said he performed CPR for over two minutes, before a breakthrough.

“She started spitting up… and she started crying. [I felt] a big sense of relief. A sense of joy,” Nelson said.

He is grateful he was able to save the life of a child, and the daughter of his friend.

Nelson has received a Life-Saving Award and medal from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office for his service and now plans to organize summer CPR classes for neighbors at the community pool, to make sure that at least 1 adult trained in CPR is present at all times.

“Kids are going to be kids. Sometimes accidents happen. The better-prepared people can be, the better chance of something like this [outcome], where everything turns out with a positive note,” Nelson said.

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