A birthday party at the Eastland City Pool Friday night turned from celebration to chaos in just minutes.
Four-year-old Trevor Maddox was found unconscious in the pool -- not by a lifeguard, but by another child.
"My younger one slipped, so we took our eyes off him for one minute and looked around and Trevor wasn't there," said Trevor's mother, Amanda Maddox, on Monday.
She described every mother's worst nightmare.
"It was a 12- or 14-year-old who pulled him out of the pool and started screaming, 'I think he's dead!'" said Amanda.
"The lifeguards, they're just 16-years-old, they're not moving, no one was doing anything," she said.
Luckily, Amanda, who's in nursing school, and her husband Jason, a former commercial diver, are both CPR-certified and quickly leapt into action.
"He was turning solid blue," said Amanda, who started CPR on her son before her husband took over.
"I initally gave him CPR for about four minutes and I got resuscitation about four and a half minutes into the CPR procedure," Jason said.
The Maddoxes said most parents were not at the party and the family throwing the event paid extra to have lifeguards present -- and they shudder to think what could have happened.
"It's a sad deal," said Jason. "I honestly think that if I wasn't present at that time, I don't think he would be here today."
Trevor's parents said he still has a little fluid in his lungs, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Four-year-old Trevor Maddox was found unconscious in the pool -- not by a lifeguard, but by another child.
"My younger one slipped, so we took our eyes off him for one minute and looked around and Trevor wasn't there," said Trevor's mother, Amanda Maddox, on Monday.
She described every mother's worst nightmare.
"It was a 12- or 14-year-old who pulled him out of the pool and started screaming, 'I think he's dead!'" said Amanda.
"The lifeguards, they're just 16-years-old, they're not moving, no one was doing anything," she said.
Luckily, Amanda, who's in nursing school, and her husband Jason, a former commercial diver, are both CPR-certified and quickly leapt into action.
"He was turning solid blue," said Amanda, who started CPR on her son before her husband took over.
"I initally gave him CPR for about four minutes and I got resuscitation about four and a half minutes into the CPR procedure," Jason said.
The Maddoxes said most parents were not at the party and the family throwing the event paid extra to have lifeguards present -- and they shudder to think what could have happened.
"It's a sad deal," said Jason. "I honestly think that if I wasn't present at that time, I don't think he would be here today."
Trevor's parents said he still has a little fluid in his lungs, but is expected to make a full recovery.
