Luke lifeguard rescues toddler

  • Published
  • By Deborah Silliman Wolfe
  • Thunderbolt staff writer
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE --  Sept. 2 was just another typical day for Luke Air Force Base lifeguard Sherilyn Kennedy. That is until she saw Abbie Evans, 3, slip into the pool and start to struggle. 

"I was in the guard stand watching a little girl sitting and hanging out with her brother at the side of the pool," said Kennedy, 23, who has been lifeguarding since she was 16. 
"Her mom was close, but her brother left and Abbie just slid in the pool. I ran over and pulled her out." 

Abbie's mother, Luralynn Evans, was looking at some paperwork only a few feet away. When she looked up, she saw Kennedy running towards Abbie and then pluck her out of the pool. 

"It was scary and I was reminded we need, no matter what, to keep our eyes on our little ones," said Mrs. Evans. "It really does only take a second. I looked off for just a minute when it happened. There was no noise when she went in, and if others hadn't seen her I would have never been alerted. I swam all my life and have been involved with numerous water programs with the kids. This is the first time in 42 years I have even needed a lifeguard. Praise God for their availability." 

Lifeguards at Silver Wings Pool undergo a minimum of 30 hours of training and take part in weekly training to keep their skills up to date. 

"Before the lifeguarding staff gets up in the chair, they have to be trained on numerous skills," said Erika Brayton, 56th Force Support Squadron aquatics director. "They have to know what to do with conscious and unconscious victims outside and inside the pool at both shallow and deep ends as well as how to handle an unconscious person at the bottom of the pool." 

Besides knowing what to do in the water, Ms. Brayton says that the guards are trained on positional spinal injuries, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to work an automated external defibrillator. 

"A lifeguard card is good for three years, so we may get someone who was certificated more than two years ago," she said. "The card is still current but that doesn't mean the person knows the skills. They have to go through a preseason training in the spring to review rescue skills and standard new employee training before they go up in the chair." 

Though the majority of the training to become a lifeguard is focused on how to react in an emergency, Ms. Brayton says the lifeguards are taught that if they have to make a bunch of rescues, they are not doing their job. 

"If someone is swimming laps and has a heart attack, that is out of the lifeguard's control," she said. "But someone diving in the shallow end and coming up possibly paralyzed, the lifeguard could have stopped that. Or if somebody is running on the deck, slips and slams their head on the ground or breaks an arm, that could have been prevented. The majority of a lifeguard's job is preventive." 

Abbie's incident was the first rescue of the summer, and hopefully the last. Silver Wings Pool closes for the summer Sept. 25. 

"The lifeguards we had this summer were awesome," Ms. Brayton said. "This was the best year we have had in the six summers I've been here. They don't need to be motivated, and they take initiative to get things done. They want to be here and they enjoy it." 

Ms. Brayton isn't the only one who thinks her staff is awesome -- Mrs. Evans agrees. 

"I have spent a lot of time at the pool with these lifeguards and I am impressed with their training," she said. "They were so positive and encouraging, leaving no reason for panic and residual fear after Abbie's incident. Sherilyn got in the water so quickly and so confidently. Not only is my little girl is completely unharmed, but she will have no problem learning to swim and enjoy water as she grows older."