A Southern California teen saved a 3-year-old family member who nearly drowned in a backyard pool on Thanksgiving.
A Southern California teen relied on her CPR training to save a 3-year-old family member who fell into a backyard pool on Thanksgiving.
Security camera video captured the rescue Thursday at the Atkinson family's Northridge home. Three-year-old Maxine walked outside onto a patio and toward the pool.
A family dog ran outside shortly after Maxine fell into the water before an uncle found her a few minutes later floating facedown in the pool. In the security camera video, Maxine's arms and legs appeared to dangle lifelessly as the uncle carried her from the pool.
That's when 15-year-old Madison Atkinson came to the rescue and began CPR.
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"She was pretty much lifeless," mother Kirsten Atkinson said on 'TODAY.' "Madison’s just pumping away for a couple of minutes, and finally, Maxine starts to open her eyes and start to breathe.
"The dispatcher said, 'Put her on her side.' And when we did that, Maxine opened her eyes and starts to literally breathe on her own."
Madison learned CPR in a sports medicine class.
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"“I was just trying to remember what I'm supposed to do," Madison said. "I was just like, 'Let's get this baby alive.'"
Responding paramedics said Madison did a great job, family members said.
"Their faces were just like, this could have been so different," Kirsten Atkinson said. "They commended her and they said that, you know, she has performed a miracle."
Maxine made a full recovery, giving the family one more thing for which to be thankful, family members said
