and then I started chatting with a friend right next to the pool ,” Harry said . Minutes later , she heard a sound she ’ ll never forget : her sister , Karen Brown , screaming Calvin ’ s name .
Heroes in action
Harry turned to see her little boy lying on his back on the pavement next to the pool .
“ Calvin was lifeless . He was blue ,” Harry remembered . “ We picked him up and his arms were just hanging down .”
She started chest compressions but Brown , who takes annual CPR classes , quickly took over .
In shock , Harry still couldn ’ t quite piece together what had happened .
“ Calvin had never gone into the pool before without his ‘ puddle jumpers ’ on , so I didn ’ t expect him to venture back in after I saw him walk inside ,” she said .
The hero who spotted Calvin floating face down and pulled him out of the pool turned out to be 14-yearold Luke Dorow , a friend of one of Harry ’ s other sons , Nathan .
“ If even just a couple more minutes had passed , we would be looking at a much different outcome ,” Harry said . “ I am so grateful for everything Luke did .”
Calvin ’ s comeback
First responders with St . Johns County Fire Rescue and the St . Johns County Sheriff ’ s Office arrived at the home within six minutes . Because Dorow had already pulled Calvin out of the pool and Brown performed CPR , Calvin had a chance to survive .
The toddler was taken by ambulance to Wolfson Children ’ s Emergency Center at Baptist Medical Center South , where Dhaval Patel , MD , a pediatric emergency medicine specialist with Wolfson Children ’ s and Emergency Resources Group , performed an evaluation and ordered a chest X-ray . Though the results were promising , the decision was made to transport him on the Kids Kare Mobile ICU to Wolfson Children ’ s Hospital ’ s main location in downtown Jacksonville for observation .
That night , Calvin was put into the care of Jeffrey Shirts , MD , a resident physician with the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville .
“ We heard some sounds on his lung exam that made us a little concerned about water getting into his lungs , but he had no other symptoms ,” Dr . Shirts explained . “ All we could do at that point was watch and see which direction he would go from there . Thankfully , he improved and we were able to wean him off oxygen overnight .”
After one night of receiving high-flow oxygen – which helps open up the collapsed airways that often accompany non-fatal drownings – Calvin was given the all-clear to go home . He is now 100 % back to normal .
What stands out to Harry most about Calvin ’ s time in the hospital is the compassion Dr . Shirts showed , sharing an almost identical story of his own .
“ It was my older son ’ s birthday party a few years ago , and my younger son , Fynn , had taken off his life jacket so he could eat ,” Dr . Shirts recalled . “ We don ’ t know when or how he ended up back in the pool , but an older girl pulled him out . I remember feeling so powerless . We ended up on the same floor at Wolfson Children ’ s as Calvin . It has given me a small sense of the fear and uncertainty parents go through when their children are admitted . It definitely shaped how I interact with the parents as their doctor , especially the parents of kids with drownings like Calvin .”
Drowning dangers
With her son Calvin safely back home , Harry has vowed to dedicate her life to educating others about the dangers of pools and other bodies of water .
“ I wish more people knew what drowning looks like ,” she said .
Jessica Winberry , prevention coordinator with THE PLAYERS Center for Child Health at Wolfson Children ’ s Hospital , said drowning is often fast and silent , not the loud splashing scene typically portrayed in movies .
“ It does not take long for a child to lose consciousness underwater ,” Winberry explained . “ It only takes a few inches of water for a baby to drown , and it can happen
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