Firefighters honor children, doctor who rescued drowning 4-year-old at Colorado camp-resort

Colorado firefighters are honoring the quick action of two children and nearby medical professionals who saved a 4-year-old boy from drowning.

The Larkspur Fire Protection District received a call reporting a possible cardiac arrest at the Jellystone Park Larkspur camp-resort on Friday.

Larkspur Fire Chief Tim McCawley said, "We were told a young man had been underwater for about five minutes."

Highlands Ranch resident Alexandra, who preferred not to use her last name, says her family was on vacation at the resort when the trouble began. Her 16-year-old daughter, Megan, and her 15-year-old son, Gabriel, were swimming when they spotted the child at the bottom of the pool, she shared.

"My daughter pulled him up and out and put him on the pool deck. She started calling for help, and my sister, Rebecca, and two other medical personnel responded and did CPR," Alexandra recalled.

McCawley confirmed this, stating that the boy was swimming with his parents in a non-lifeguarded pool in the slide area when he went under. He says two children, including Megan, pulled the child from the pool, and others began CPR, including the girl's aunt and a Seattle doctor on vacation.

The LFPD says the child had a pulse and was breathing by the time they arrived five minutes later.

Her sister Rebecca, a doctor in Northern Colorado Hospitals, and Kimberly Godoy, a NICU nurse at Presbyterian St. Luke's, were two of the medical professionals who jumped in to help.

Godoy says she was visiting Jellystone with her children and sister-in-law when she heard people shouting for help and ran over to assist.

"When I got over there, unfortunately, there was a boy who was laying on the ground, very blue, and appeared to not be breathing at all. I did a quick assessment, felt for a pulse, did not feel a pulse, so I began administering CPR immediately," Godoy said.

She says she did a few rounds of CPR when a doctor approached.

"And the boy started coughing up a little bit of water, so I felt pretty confident in passing it over to the doctor so I could make sure my kids got out of the pool as well," said Godoy.

She said it's fortunate that Megan spotted the boy at the bottom of the pool when she did.

"Both my kids are CPR trained and have done a lot of emergency training through American Heritage Girls and Boy Scouts. I am so glad they acted quickly and that my sister was right there," Alexandra said.

The Larkspur Fire Department thought so, too. They dropped by to thank Megan and Rebecca and present them each with a Life Saving Award for their quick action.

They also gave a Life Saving Award to young Brandon Vanderwol for helping with the rescue.

McCawley says the 4-year-old boy is recovering at Children's Hospital Colorado.

"They did a fantastic job. We could not have asked for a better outcome. Those folks did a great job of stepping in before we got there and making sure we had a great outcome," said McCawley. "Jellystone did a great job of responding once they knew about it."

"I am so proud of them all," Alexandra said of her family, adding, "The fact that the boy is going to be OK is the most important part."

Godoy echoed her sentiments, stating, "[I'm] so glad he's going to be okay."

She added that it's important to keep a close eye on children while in the water, even if they know how to swim.

"This was a very hard experience, and I just hope to spread awareness so it doesn't happen again at this location, or just so people know what to look for and to make sure they're watching their kids while swimming," said Godoy.

CBS Colorado reached out to Jellystone Park Larkspur for comment, but has not yet received a response.