It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
DeluxeNames
AdminAdministrator
## UPDATE On Holliston Near Drowning Victims
From Milford Daily News by Norman Miller:
For Vanessa Gomes and Beatriz Souza, a relaxing Sunday at Stoddard Park in Holliston was interrupted by a scream — a father screaming for help for his unconscious daughter.
“We were at the lake enjoying the day when I walked to the parking lot to answer a phone call,” Gomes, who lives in Milford, told the Daily News in a phone interview on Monday night. “As I was walking back, I heard people screaming. At first, I thought it might be a fight. But when I got closer, I realized a child had drowned and people were yelling for someone to call 911.”
Gomes said she immediately called 911, then she and Souza, who recently became certified in CPR, jumped into action to help the little girl, whom she called “a baby.” She said the child’s lips, face, arms and hands had all turned blue from an apparent lack of oxygen.
“I knelt down beside her, supported the baby’s head, and helped keep everyone calm so she (Souza) could focus on the resuscitation," Gomes said. "I also asked the crowd to stop screaming and give us enough space to help the baby. My friend performed CPR correctly, and I stayed by her side the entire time, assisting her. While she was doing chest compressions, I cleared water from the baby’s nose and mouth.
"We continued working together, and after about three minutes of CPR, the baby finally cried.”
Once the baby began crying, they laid her on her side to help her breathe and her cries became stronger. Souza picked the baby up and ran to the ambulance when it arrived and handed the baby to paramedics, Gomes said.
The Holliston Fire Department, in a press release, said the child was flown to UMass-Memorial Medical Center in Worcester after the 6:55 p.m. incident to be treated. The father was also taken to the hospital because he fractured his knee rushing into the lake to save his daughter, Gomes said.
Gomes said the end result was worth it, because the child appears to be doing well.
“Today (Monday), I spoke with the family, and they told me the baby is doing well,” she said. “She is eating normally, there is no water in her lungs, and the doctors say she is doing great with no lasting damage. They expect she will be able to go home either (Monday) or (Tuesday). The father is still in the hospital receiving treatment for his fractured knee.”
