Saturday, June 1, 2019 3:34AM, KABC-TV Los Angeles
CHAMBLEE, Geo. -- A 10-year-old girl is being called a hero for saving her three-year-old sister from drowning in an Atlanta-area swimming pool.
Surveillance video captured the moment Kali Dallis went from enjoying a sunny afternoon in the water to nearly drowning in the pool at the Savoy Apartment Complex in Chamblee, WSB reported.
The dramatic footage was recorded on May 15 shows Kali gasping for air, as she struggled to stay above the water.
Her older sister, Jayla was on the opposite side of the pool unaware of the dire situation at hand. When Jayla finally realized her little sister was submerged underwater she didn't hesitate for a second, as she leaped back into the pool swimming towards her sister's lifeless body.
"She was like heavy, so I had to pull her by her hair and then I grabbed her by her waist and pulled her up," Jayla said.
A witness called 911 while Kali's aunt and the apartment operations manager took turns performing CPR.
Chamblee police Sgt. Ed Lyons, the proud father of a six-year-old girl, said he couldn't help but think of his own daughter as he raced to help. His body camera captured the entire scene.
"I saw my little girl laying there. Same kind of little bathing suit she wears. Same little hair pulled up in a little bun up top. You know you kind of have to push past that and do what you're trained to do," said Sgt. Lyons.
Although she was showing signs of life, Kali still remained in critical condition.
When Kali's mother arrived at Scottish Rite Hospital, she found her little one hooked up to a ventilator. In fact, doctors told her they weren't even sure if she'd make it out alive.
But two weeks after this horrifying incident, Kali is back to being a vivacious toddler.
"It's amazing. It's a miracle. Don't take your eyes off of them. Don't take your eyes off of them. All the floats are not safe. Be careful. Watch your kids," Kali's mother said.
She will be heading home as early as Friday, and while it was a close call for Kali her doctors anticipate that she'll make a full recovery.
https://abc7.com/video-girl-saves-sister-from-drowning-in-georgia-pool/5324715/
Here at the PPCD, we are so incredibly grateful that Kali survived and is expected to have a complete recovery. We are thankful that Jayla saw her and was able to call for help and rescue her little sister.
When drownings happen, we look for what went wrong. What barrier failed and what barrier can we implement to stop this from happening? This inquiry is not to be mistaken as judgement, as drownings are tragic and it's unnecessary to add further pain by assigning even more guilt than a caregiver naturally experiences after a drowning. Judgement actually perpetuates the cycle because it creates a false sense of security. It misleads us to believe it won't happen to us because we're "good parents".
What we can learn about this drowning? Kali's mom said it in her interview. Floats are not safe. Supervise your children around the water.
Floats are not safe. Learning how to float independently provides the safety our children need to survive in any body of water.
We encourage parents to seek swim lessons that teach this survival skill and focus on teaching their children how to handle an accidental fall into water.
For more info on what to look for in swim lessons, please visit: https://www.parentspreventingchildhooddrowning.com/high-quality-swim-lesson
Comments