Nurses save 4-year-old boy from drowning at water park

4-year-old was at Zehnder's in Frankenmuth

FRANKENMUTH, Mich. – A 4-year-old boy who nearly drowned at a local water park over the weekend was saved when two off-duty nurses stepped in and took action.

The boy's mother, Arteshia Christian, of Macomb Township, said her son, Devin, was playing in the kiddie pool at Zehnder's in Frankenmuth. She said he was standing by the rope line that separates the kiddie pool from the "Lazy River" when he got sucked into the Lazy River's current.

Christian said the lifeguard didn't notice until a girl saw the boy and started screaming. Christian said she almost passed out when she realized she couldn't see her son.

"I see the lifeguard pull him out and I just remember his lips were blue, he looked gray and his eyes were open staring at me," Christian said.

Christian said the lifeguard pulled her son out of the pool but didn't use CPR. She said two nurses -- Corey Kalo and Brandon Ostahowski, from Midland -- happened to be near the Lazy River and sprang into action.

"I noticed when the lifeguard took him out, he kind of stalled there for a second, because I guess he was shocked, just like I was," Christian said. "But Brandon and Corey knew immediately there was no time. They jumped in. They jumped right in."

The men found that her son wasn't breathing and had no pulse, so they performed CPR, Christian said. They managed to clear his airway before an ambulance arrived.

The boy was taken to the intensive care unit at Covenant Hospital and was there for two days. Doctors said they are amazed the boy not only survived the incident, but he is expected to be OK. Devon was released from the hospital Monday.


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Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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