Shelby Parker and her son, Ryan, were enjoying some time at their community pool in Scottsdale, Arizona. Somehow, the 4-year-old managed to slip out of his water wings and wound up at the bottom of the pool. But thankfully, off-duty nurse Amanda Smith was also at the pool that day. And thanks to her, this terrifying story has a happy ending!
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"It's because of Amanda's instinctive actions that doctors say my son did not suffer any brain injuries, because he never lost blood to his brain," Shelby said.RELATED: Hero Sees Lifeless Girl Pulled From Water, Then Comes To The Rescue The entire community agrees that Amanda is a hero. And so, the Scottsdale Fire Department and American Medical Response Lifeline honored her for the quick-thinking that went into saving the 4-year-old's life.
"This is so nice but so unnecessary," the humble off-duty nurse said of all the attention. "Anyone in the profession would have done the exact same thing I did."And while Amanda may shy away from all the praise, Shelby has no doubt God worked through her to save Ryan's life. [caption id="attachment_38755" width="750"]
"Amanda was truly doing God's work that day. He's meant to survive and she is the angel that saved him and I thank her so much," she said. "It felt like the whole city came out to save my son and I'm so thankful to them."
"I thought I deserved to be interrogated and put in the back of a police car," she said, "but that's not how Scottsdale police or fire departments cared for me."[rsnippet id="2"] Shelby is glad her story is being shared to help remind other parents how quickly a drowning can take place. RELATED: Mom Shares Story Of Baby’s Near Drowning As Water Safety Reminder Since the terrifying ordeal, Shelby has enrolled Ryan into swim lessons and took a CPR class herself.
"Knowing how to administer mouth-to-mouth CPR when all else fails can be the difference between life and death in a drowning incident." said Lori Schmidt, Scottsdale Fire Department spokeswoman.