Lifeguard who rescued 10-year-old boy from drowning: 'I knew there was something wrong'
Independence Lake County Park Superintendent Brian Machemer stands next to a life guard stand Wednesday at Independence Lake in Webster Township. Machemer saved the life of a 10-year-old boy who nearly drowned in the lake Tuesday.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
They each grabbed one of their classmate’s arms, and had to hold the boy’s face out of the water. But they didn't scream for help.
It wasn’t until they were about 20 feet from the shore of the swimming area that they caught the eye of park Superintendent Brian Machemer, who jumped into action — running from his post in a life guard chair across the beach into the shallow water, where he picked the boy up.
“I knew there was something wrong as soon as I touched him,” Machemer said. “He felt like a dead weight.”
It would be the first time in his 30-year career in the parks system — more than a decade of which has been spent at Independence Lake — that Machemer would save the life of someone using CPR.
Emergency crews transported the boy to the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, where he remained in critical but stable condition Wednesday.
When he pulled the boy from the water to the beach, Machemer said he couldn’t feel a pulse and the boy wasn’t breathing.
Immediately, Machemer began performing first aid. Several people on the beach ran to help.
After administering CPR, Machemer said he began to feel a pulse in the boy.
Someone brought out a defibrillator — and it was after using the device that Machemer said he saw life come back into him.
“It could be five minutes and it seemed like three hours,” Machemer said of the moments between grabbing the boy from the water and when the ambulance arrived.
Independence Lake in Webster Township north of Ann Arbor Wednesday afternoon.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The boy and his classmates were a part of a group of about 50 students from Erickson Elementary School in Ypsilanti that traveled to Independence Lake County Park in Webster Township for a three-day field trip. It's a trip the school takes every year, Machemer said.
The students do activities throughout the afternoon and swim at the end of the day. Wednesday afternoon, the school group had returned to the park for their field trip as planned.
Erickson Elementary School Principal Kevin Carney met with the classes involved with the event and gave them all the information on the boy’s status he could.
Machemer said he is still waiting to hear what happened to the boy.
“Until he’s walking out of the hospital I’m reserving my feelings until then,” Machemer said.
Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.
Comments
Barbara Read
Sun, Jun 3, 2012 : 10:23 p.m.
When a person is actually drowning, you have less than a minute to respond. The two little boys saved their friend's life. After that, the adults continued the efforts, but without those two little heroes, the big heroes wouldn't have gotten the chance to use their lifesaving skills. People who are drowning don't usually look like they are. Here's an article about what drowning really looks and sounds like. http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/
Emily Allis
Sun, Jun 3, 2012 : 1:36 a.m.
I was a witness to this event, and there were two "Good Samaritans" who rushed in: one of them a PA at UMHS, and the other a nurse at SJMH. These two worked on the boy, doing chest compressions and "bagging" him. The lifeguard was there also, and applied the AED (defibrillator), but it was never discharged; a shock was never indicated. I'm sorry that the reporter didn't report this story accurately, since I feel that those two, who were not on duty in the same way the lifeguard was (not to diminish the lifeguard's cool head and worthy contribution) were truly heroic.
julieswhimsies
Sun, Jun 3, 2012 : 10:54 p.m.
Thank you for giving us the accurate story. The PA and the nurse were not even mentioned. They and the two children who pulled the child out of the water are heroes. A2.com. You REALLY screwed this story up!
Kennedy
Fri, Jun 1, 2012 : 2:11 a.m.
Kudos to the rescuers - I think that they did the best, in the ways that they could. I hope that the child recovers fully. In reply to commentators, children will look similar to adults in drowning situations. A good blog to reference, which has researchable links, is by Mario Vittone - a US Coast Guard rescuer. http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/ The site normally has a video called 'Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning' which I highly recommend viewing. (the site is being upgraded to cope with the access load) The difference between a drowning situation and aquatic distress is covered, and there is new information on what is called the 'Instinctive Drowning Response.' Stay safe in the water.
Dwarner
Fri, Jun 1, 2012 : 1:15 a.m.
I find it disappointing that anonymous voices can share their expertise so willingly and throw compassionate county workers "under the bus' so willingly. At times like these I wish Ann arbor still had a newspaper and writing letters to the editor ment more than just adding to the 'noise'. I mean really - gonavy? If the test was open waster I hope you had the help of buoyancy. I believe that if you are going to 'second guess' a life saving action - own up and put your last name on the tag line..
julieswhimsies
Sat, Jun 2, 2012 : 4:08 a.m.
And as far as the Go Navy remark, I was speaking to "Go Navy" the poster. I also said GO NAVY, because my father who died just last year was a Navy Medic in WWII. He received a purple heart, and was part of the group of Marines who stormed the S.Pacific island of Taraha (sp?) where 3000 of our young men died. He was one of only 4 medics in that battle.
julieswhimsies
Sat, Jun 2, 2012 : 4:03 a.m.
Own up? I am a woman, and NEVER leave personal information online. It is simply not safe. I stand firmly behind what I said. Actually, I am a long-distance open water swimmer. Long-time (30 years) aquatics professional. I don't need to verify that information to you or anyone else, for that matter. I am not applying for employment here. I've pulled more than 47 people out of the ocean, lakes, and pools in my lifetime. I was just doing my job. I also, as I said before worked with Navy recruits in Ft. Wayne , Indiana. After the non swimmers were pulled out of the water with a pole, I and other navy instructors taught these men to swim. They were fully clothed minus boots. As for my ability to swim in open water, I will repeat. I took an Outward Bound course through the coast guard as a teenager, which involved treading water in the Pacific for 3 hours. As for the Superintendent sitting in the lifeguard chair...nowhere in the article does it say he was a trained guard. What he did was a good thing. BUT, he should not have been in that chair, and before he climbed down, he should have yelled: "LIFEGUARD...SOMEBODY CALL 911 immediately!!!!" He deserves credit for starting CPR...but the two kids saved the child. Period.
Wolf's Bane
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 12:16 p.m.
Kudos to Brian Machemer! However, I think Erickson Elementary School Principal, Kevin Carney should severely discipline the boy's teacher for gross neglect and child endangerment. That's just me.
DNB
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 1:35 a.m.
I hope the little boy makes a full recovery. I'm thankful that people take the time to learn CPR, and that defibrillators are more readily available to help save a life. Kudos to his two classmates, and Mr. Machemer. All my kids went to Independence Lake on a 4th grade field trip when they attended Lawton. I went as a chaperone with my oldest child, and we had nearly 100 of our own kids to keep an eye on. It's great fun for kids, but a very busy place.
DNB
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 9:26 p.m.
Julie, It was a field trip for the entire 4th grade of Lawton Elementary School. There were obviously lifeguards on duty, that goes without saying, I thought. Teachers and parents were also along for the field trip, with eyes on the water, too ... you're reading a little bit too much into my words.
julieswhimsies
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 8:56 p.m.
You took that many children on a lake outing, and failed to hire even one guard?! That is scary.
Shelly Vrsek
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 12:05 a.m.
2 kids nearly drown on the same beach in two years. My concern is that while the lifeguards are competently trained to do CPR, they are not adequately trained to understand what a child looks like when s/he is drowning. A child drowning looks a *lot* different than an adult, it can sometimes resemble playing. I think this needs to be included in their training.
julieswhimsies
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 8:54 p.m.
As a former Navy swimming instructor, you are correct, Go Navy. And I do mean GO NAVY!!!
julieswhimsies
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 8:50 p.m.
You are wrong. Lifeguards are ESPECIALLY trained to know what a drowning kid looks like. It is included in their training. Lifeguards also know that a child is more likely to be involved in an incident than adult. This is not to say guards don't watch everyone. The good ones do. We used many different staged scenarios in my classes...including a group of children playing around in a lake. I flunked far more guards than I passed. It is not a glamorous, sexy job.
GoNavy
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 1:41 p.m.
Melanie Mack- Are you just making that up? In the Navy, we were required to swim for 40 minutes while wearing our uniforms and not touching the ground. I'm a terrible swimmer and I had no issue, nor did my classmates. Do you know how much your clothes "weigh" when you're wearing them in the water? They weigh exactly as much as they do out of the water. The only time your clothes weigh more is when they are wet and you are out of the water.
melanie mack
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 12:14 a.m.
I agree...there dodnt seem to be any sign that this child was in trouble. I also wonder if the heavy jeans he was wearing contributed to the problem. Big baggy cargo pants would hold someone down.
Janis
Wed, May 30, 2012 : 10 p.m.
Let's not forget the young heros who pulled the boy from the water. I hope they get the recognition they deserve for the role they played in the rescue.
GoNavy
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 12:44 p.m.
A monkey could perform CPR these days. It's not like the lifeguard performed an emergency tracheotomy while simultaneously stabilizing a massive head trauma.
alex
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 11:04 a.m.
they didn't preform cpr did they?
GoNavy
Wed, May 30, 2012 : 10:24 p.m.
IMHO, they're the only ones who deserve any credit in this situation. I have my own views regarding the lifeguard, but sharing many of them would likely to cause my commentary to run afoul of the site moderators.
GoNavy
Wed, May 30, 2012 : 9:50 p.m.
"I knew there was something wrong." That's good, because you're the lifeguard.
Gary
Wed, May 30, 2012 : 8:08 p.m.
I too was a Life Guard and Coast Guard and my hat is off to the two kids and the life guard. Most important is the child is recovering. Ever life guard can miss events when to water is crowded.
Hume
Thu, May 31, 2012 : 2:27 p.m.
@ GoNavy Comparing air traffic control and life guarding is apples and oranges. In one situation you have a computer keeping track of all the flights and in the other you have a jumbled mess of kids screaming kicking and splashing. As a trained lifeguard it is hard to tell the difference between playing and drowning in a crowded swim area. Drownings don't usually happen like you see them sterotypically depicted on tv. I just love how some know it all ex Navy has to throw cold water on a story that ended positively. From his few experiences in the Navy he knows how things should be done. Don't you have something better to do then troll the comments section?