Heroes Perform CPR on Boy, 4, Pulled from Bottom of Pool

The quick actions of a Palm Harbor resident and two Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies helped save the life of a 4-year-old boy who was .

Cayden Gagnon, 4, was airlifted to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg by a Bayflite medical helicopter after he was rescued from a pool at the Cypress Falls at Palm Harbor condos around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon, according to Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Spokesperson Liz Monforti. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office says Gagnon is hospitalized in stable condition.

The boy was at the pool with his aunt, who was watching two to three children, and had all of the children sitting on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water, according to Monforti.

"She said she turned her head for a moment and when she looked back, the four year-old was at the bottom of the pool," said Monforti.

The aunt then pulled the boy from the water. Witnesses say he was purple in color when he was removed from the pool, according to Monforti. Andrew Cariola, 28, a resident who was at the pool with his own 4-year-old son, saw the commotion.

"We were swimming at the other end of the pool and she pulled him out of the pool and started screaming, 'Somebody help me, somebody help me!' " he said.

"I went over, I pulled him up, laid him down flat and I said, 'Someone pick up a phone, call 911,' and I started doing chest pumps on him," said Cariola.

Cariola said he continued the chest pumps for about a minute and a half, then the boy regained partial consciousness.

"His belly had swollen up. I put my hand on his heart and I could feel it, and it was kind of like he was having trouble breathing, like he was breathing a little bit, still a little blue," said Cariola.

Monforti said a party was going on at the pool that afternoon. An estimated 30 children and adults were in the pool area when the incident happened.

Cariola told Palm Harbor Patch that a man was having a birthday party for his daughter at the pool. That man ended up helping Cariola perform CPR on the boy. 

"He called 911 and was talking on the phone, he was right there with me, he did a few pumps as well," said Cariola.

"All I thought was, 'This kid's gotta breathe.' " 

Two Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies happened to be in the area on an unrelated call. They rushed to the pool area when they found out what had happened.

Immediately upon their arrival, deputies Regina Tsanakaliotis and James Piper turned Gagnon on his side and delivered several thrusts to his back. These actions caused the child to start breathing again, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Cariola held his own son, Anthony Jr., 4, as he recalled the moment Gagnon started to regain consciousness.

"Luckily he came back, and it was the scariest thing I ever seen in my life. All I could think of was, this guy right here, you know. I'm still shook by it."

After Gagnon was airlifted to All Children's Hospital, Cariola spoke with Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies about the incident. Bohonon's uncle, Robert Keck, stood outside the pool area nervously waiting for his car to be fixed, so he could drive to All Children's Hospital. Keck was holding Gagnon's younger brother, Lucas, age 2.

"My nieces and nephews are my world," Keck said, his voice cracking.

"Caden is such a smart kid. ... I'm so worried."

A few minutes later, Cariola finished speaking with deputies and walked out from the pool area carrying his son, Anthony.

Keck watched reporters interview Cariola and realized that the man who they were interviewing was actually the man who helped save his nephew's life. Keck walked over to Cariola and the men chatted while each of them held a child.

"I mean it from the heart. I can't have kids. My nephew, this little boy is probably the only reason I'm alive today," Keck told Cariola.

"Thank you, I can never thank you enough. ... He means the world to me ... God bless you, bro." 

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