Family of baby who nearly drowned in Phoenix pool speaks out about water safety
PHOENIX - As the Valley welcomes warmer weather, people are warning parents to take the necessary precautions to keep their kids safe around a pool.
First responders and the family of a 1-year-old boy that survived a near-drowning incident back in April are speaking out about the important steps that saved the toddler's life.
In a matter of seconds, the Alvarez family experienced one of their worst fears - their baby nearly drowning after falling into a pool in northwest Phoenix.
Erica Alvarez gave her baby CPR - a move that responders say saved the baby's life.
The rescue, which may be hard to watch, was caught on police body camera video.
"If I didn’t know what to do, I don’t think my son would be here today - giving compressions, CPR, making sure 911 is on its way," said Alvarez.
Fortunately, baby Justin Lopez is healthy and happy after miraculously surviving the near-drowning. He turns 2 years old on Wednesday.
"Don't ever think it won't be you," his mother said. "It could happen to anybody."
The doctor who helped baby Justin said that when he arrived at the hospital, it didn’t appear that he was going to survive.
"The only thing he had going for him was [that] early CPR was started, he had a pulse by the time he got to us," the doctor said. "His body temperature was cold because of the pool temperatures."
Some tips for parents and guardians with pools:
- Make sure you have self-closing gates.
- Have a barrier around the pool.
- Have an adult present whenever kids are around the pool.
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