Two firefighters from two different departments happened to be in the right place, at the right time. They're this week's KRLD Difference Makers.
Celina Firefighter and licensed paramedic Mike Rockne was lounging with his family at a Celina Community Pool.
Rockne said he was in one of several pools with his son, when his wife called out to him and pointed to another pool. There was a commotion and people were yelling for a doctor or a nurse.
A 4-year-old boy named Walker had been pulled from the water.
"When I got there Walker was already out of the water. He was on the deck but he was non-responsive. I did a quick assessment on him. He didn't have a pulse and he wasn't breathing," Mike said.
Meanwhile, another firefighter from the Denton Fire Department, Captain Daniel Boyd, joined in to help.
"So then Dan and I began our resuscitative efforts. Luckily we didn't have to do it for that long. It probably felt a lot longer than it really was. Probably after about 2 minutes of CPR we started to get the response from Walker that we wanted. We saw him start to regurgitate some of the water that he had ingested and he started coming to and being more responsive with us," Mike said.
When Walker began crying, that was a good sign, according to Mike. Walker was taken to the hospital for evaluation and was given a good bill of health.
After the incident, both Dan and Mike were awarded the Lifesaving Award at the Celina City Council meeting and Walker was there to present them the award.
“I am so proud to celebrate these brave and heroic first responders who were attentive to a nearby crisis and leaped into action to save a life,” said Celina Mayor Sean Terry. “Our firefighters are such a special group of civil servants, and their immediate response of service and skill resulted in a happy ending to a horrific situation.”
Walker, meanwhile, was presented with personalized Celina Fire Department protective gear similar to what is used when responding to emergency calls.
"What was more rewarding...I think it was 2 or 3 days after the incident, I was back on shift and Walker's mom and dad brought him to the station. For me, the most rewarding thing was just being able to see this little guy and it was almost like nothing had happened," Mike said. "I was just really glad to see Walker be okay and he gets to continue being a brother and a son and a little boy and that means the world."
We're proud to call Mike Rockne and Daniel Boyd this week's KRLD Difference Makers.
If you know someone making a difference in the community, send us an email at differencemaker@krld.com.
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