HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - Officials commended two men who helped rescue a man who was experiencing a medical emergency at a pool in Hialeah.
Lifeguard Camilo Jimenez and resident Kevin Palmer met each other for the first time at a commendation event, Monday afternoon.
The incident happened at the newly opened Bucky Dent Water Park pool, when an 80-year-old man was out for a swim.
However, lifeguards at the pool realized something was wrong when a woman informed them of the emergency.
“I hear a lady reach out to the lifeguard about a man being underwater. I tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a shook, didn’t respond at all,” said Palmer.
The lifeguards reacted quickly, and together with the help of Palmer, they helped bring the elderly man out of the water.
“It was Kevin helping me pull him out of the water, I put the tube behind the old man, and we pulled him out of the water, three of us,” said Jimenez. “After that, Tristan went to get help, and I started with the CPR.”
They were able to keep him stable until rescue crews arrived.
“I was getting very worried, because for his age, that to happen? It was very scary,” said lifeguard Tristan Bilbao.
The lifeguards emphasized the importance of knowing lifesaving procedures.
“I think CPR is very important because this situation happened in the pool where we have a lot of lifeguards who are able to be trained and respond to it, but in other situations, this was very preventable and could have happened anywhere else, and in that situation it’d be very helpful to have just anyone be trained to do CPR and respond to the situation,” said lifeguard Rayan Elommal.
After their swift and professional actions, they said they could not be more happy to have played a part in saving someone’s life.
“It makes me feel incredible, helping someone is always good, and it’s very good that he’s still good and I hope he recovers fast, and he goes home with his happy family,” said Jimenez.
One of the lifeguards said he was able to see the 80-year-old in the hospital, who thanked them for their actions.
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