Age 12 Sister Saves Toddler with CPR After Mother Rescues Him from Septic Tank
Many of us are blessed with the convenience of modern plumbing. Those who aren’t hooked up to the city sewer often find themselves the proud owners of a septic tank system.
When it works, it works well. When it doesn’t, well… it’s a sticky situation.
One of the attendant dangers of septic tanks is the propensity for animals and small children to fall into them.
It’s a gross mental image, and one that no one ever wants to encounter in-person, which is why covers and grates and all sorts of contraptions for securing the hatches are available.
But sometimes, despite our best efforts, accidents happen. For one family in Edgewood, Washington, the unimaginable happened.
At around 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, a dispatcher got a call from a 12-year-old girl who was in the middle of a harrowing situation.
Somehow — the details still aren’t clear — a 2-year-old boy found his way into a septic tank. His mother went after him, as any good mother would.
But then she got stuck.
So it became the job of the 12-year-old sister to rescue her brother. When she called 911, her brother was unresponsive, but she followed instructions and gave her brother CPR.
This isn’t the sort of clean CPR-giving that happens poolside. This kid must have been filthy from his escapades, and yet his sister knew what she had to do and did it like a champ.
She did an excellent job, too. By the time help arrived, the 2-year-old was conscious again, thanks to his sister.
The boy was immediately taken to the hospital to assess his condition further and make sure he wouldn’t suffer complications.
Bud Backer, The East Pierce Fire Chief, along with the other first responders, was impressed with her ability to remain calm under pressure and perform her duties with skill.
“The fact that his 12-year-old sister was so dialed in, they were saying, ‘Chief, you need to keep track of her. 10 years from now, you need to give her a job,’” he said.
“She was very in control and followed directions to a ‘T,’ and saved her brother’s life in the process.”
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