Three of our certified nursing assistants found themselves in a frightening situation on July 2. Their care-free afternoon at the pool turned into a harrowing experience, one they’ll never forget.
Certified nursing assistants Miranda Schilling and Courtney Stahl, who are both Clarkson College nursing students and taking summer classes, were supposed to have pre-labs that day. That’s when students go to their assigned floors and review patient charts, labs and medications prior to clinicals. But their professor cancelled, and they decided to spend the afternoon with fellow nursing students at Stahl’s apartment pool.
“I heard a woman say ‘get your sister,’ ‘get your sister,’” says Schilling, who says the woman had what looked like a 1-year-old boy in her arms.
“She then put the baby down and jumped into the pool, but couldn’t swim,” she says. “I then saw what looked like a 6-year-old girl in the pool who was actively drowning.”
The two jumped up and that’s when Stahl spotted a child at the bottom of the pool. She dove in to get the child, while Schilling was able to grab the older daughter and pull her to safety. A family member pulled the mom to safety.
“I swam down to her and she was unconscious and lifeless,” says Stahl, who believes the girl is 3 years old. “I swam with her above my head and then handed her to Miranda.”
Meanwhile, a friend called 911.
Schilling, who worked as a lifeguard for the City of Omaha throughout high school, pulled the child out and laid her down. Stahl felt for a pulse.
“There was no pulse, she was not breathing,” says Schilling.
Schilling started her first cycle of 30 compressions, while Stahl managed her airway.
“With each compression, water was flowing out of her nose and mouth,” says Schilling. “Courtney then tried to give her two breaths, but her lungs were filled with water.”
While this was unfolding, Shane Asher, patient care technician in Emergency Services, had just arrived and was yelling for someone to let him in to the pool area.
Schilling started a second cycle of compressions. That’s when the child started coughing. The three tilted her head to the side and discovered she was breathing and had a pulse.
“The mom was hysterical,” says Stahl. “We sat down with the child and just tried to keep her awake. She kept falling asleep.”
That’s when paramedics arrived. They gave the child oxygen and took her away in an ambulance to a local hospital.
Despite her years as a lifeguard, Schilling has never performed CPR before.
“I don’t remember thinking anything,” she says. “My training kicked in. I knew she needed compressions to get the water out of her lungs. I was just going to keep working until the paramedics got there.”
“I’ve never been put in that position,” says Stahl, who was a certified EMT in South Dakota. “I just knew something had to be done.”
“I’m thankful we were there that day,” adds Schilling.
The girl has since been discharged from the hospital and is now home.