Child thanks firefighters who saved him after hand was caught in pool jet
Five-year-old Leon Johnston and his family thanked local firefighters for saving Leon's life last week.
"Words can't say how appreciative we are of all you guys and the hard work," Daniel Johnston, Leon's father, said to Chapel Hill and Franklin, Tennessee, firefighters. "It was grueling. I mean, 100-degree weather and in that pool."
More than 15 people worked to rescue Leon after his hand got stuck in a swimming pool pump.
"I had told them to stay away from any holes in the pool because they are dangerous, but he's 5 so," Lydia Johnston, Leon's mother, said.
It took hours to save Leon — specifically, 180 minutes, Leon recalled. But it felt like an eternity to Lydia Johnston. "It was frightening all the possibilities of what could happen were going through my mind," she said.
Lydia Johnston added that she is just thankful the first responders were able to carefully drill through the pool wall and cut the pool pipe without hurting Leon.
She also gave a shoutout to her daughter and Leon's sister, 7-year-old Eliza Johnston.
"People were just running up and coming up so fast and Eliza was a hero too because she went running for the neighbor who had the key to turn the pump off," Lydia Johnston said.
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