Utah couple wants people to learn CPR after their son almost died in drowning accident at Palisades Reservoir

PALISADES RESERVOIR — A seven-year-old Utah boy miraculously survived a drowning mishap while connected a family picnic astatine Palisades Reservoir past week.

Ethan Young, of Willard, Utah, was 3 days into his family picnic erstwhile nan mishap happened connected Aug. 5, 2024. Ethan’s father, Morgan Young, told EastIdahoNews.com that his wife, Crystal, stayed backmost pinch Ethan while Morgan took everybody other retired connected a skis vessel during nan day.

When they came backmost to camp, Crystal said she was going to make meal but Ethan, who is autistic and nonverbal, needed his diaper changed.

“She said, ‘But I’m making meal truthful you request to watch him too,'” Morgan recalls hearing. “I was reasoning ‘Okay, he’s successful nan motorhome for a minute, I’m going to locomotion retired and opportunity hullo to everybody.’ For a moment, possibly 1 aliases 2 minutes, we mislaid way of him. It was astatine that constituent erstwhile I thought to guidelines up and spell alteration his diaper.”

Searching for Ethan

Morgan went wrong nan motorhome to find Ethan, but he wasn’t there. Morgan instantly went extracurricular and made his measurement down to nan water. Following down him was Pedro, their speech student from 2019 who was visiting and camping pinch nan Young family. They some cognize really overmuch Ethan loves nan h2o and they began scanning nan reservoir for him.

“We were halfway betwixt wherever nan vegetation stops and nan h2o starts, and that’s erstwhile (Pedro) — he had thing successful his manus — but he went ‘Holy crap!’ and it went flying successful nan air,” Morgan remembers. “If that kid (Pedro) germinated wings, that’s erstwhile he’d done it. I followed correct down him.”

As Morgan sewage person to nan water, he said he could spot Ethan’s back. Ethan was astir 8 feet from nan shoreline.

“I could conscionable spot white, almost for illustration a turtle shell,” Morgan stated. “He was face-down. I couldn’t spot immoderate limbs, conscionable hardly his back.”

Pedro jumped in, grabbed Ethan and rushed him to nan shoreline. Morgan said Ethan’s look looked “almost inhuman really bluish it was” and he looked for illustration a “ragdoll” arsenic his arms and legs flopped around.

The location wherever Ethan Young, 7, vanished successful nan h2o and was recovered astir 8 feet from nan shoreline. | Courtesy Young family

Trying to prevention Ethan

Ethan was placed connected nan crushed wherever Morgan quickly began life-saving measures connected his son.

“I started CPR but I did a hybrid point which is not needfully taught, it’s aged schoolhouse now, but for immoderate reason, it fresh nan situation,” he explained. “I was doing tummy thrusts but I was pushing really precocious connected his tummy truthful it’s besides pushing down connected his sternum a small bit. Within astir 10 seconds of starting that process, I gave him a mates of breaths but he fought maine connected them a small bit, I started to spot signs of life coming backmost — pinking up a small bit, eyes unfastened and he makes immoderate noise.”

Less than 10 minutes aft nan incident, Ethan and his parents were successful their car driving to nan intersection of U.S. Highway 89 and McCoy Forest Road to meet emergency personnel.

While Morgan was getting Ethan successful nan car, he threw up h2o but erstwhile successful nan car, he passed retired and his colour vanished again. This time, Ethan’s mother came to nan rescue and started CPR successful nan vehicle. She was capable to revive him.

“We had conscionable sewage to wherever nan officers were and he stopped breathing again,” she said. “I pulled him retired of nan spot … (and) I continued doing breaths until nan ambulance arrived.”

Getting to nan hospital

Ethan was rushed to a infirmary successful Afton, Wyoming. Morgan said erstwhile they sewage to nan emergency room Ethan was making noises and looking around.

“It was a beautiful show to see,” Morgan mentioned. “They did a thorax x-ray and recovered that not only did he not person immoderate h2o successful his lungs but location ne'er was immoderate successful his lungs. (Doctors said) it’s because young kids thin to spell into a Laryngospasm and adjacent their airway disconnected and extremity breathing.”

It didn’t return agelong until Ethan gained his power backmost and was showing signs that he was backmost to himself. The only problems Ethan had lasted a fewer days and they were he didn’t want to return his medicine and erstwhile his mom tried to buss him, he drew backmost and went “uh-uh,” which nan Young’s opportunity that’s because he must retrieve Crystal giving him mouth-to-mouth.

Ethan stayed overnight astatine nan infirmary to beryllium monitored and was released nan pursuing day.

About 20 minutes aft nan mishap while successful nan backmost of nan ambulance. | Courtesy Young family

Wear life jackets, person watchers and cognize CPR

This mishap taught nan Young family lessons they want to stock pinch others successful hopes they don’t person to spell done a akin experience. They want group to cognize really important it is for children to deterioration life jackets each nan clip erstwhile adjacent water.

“(Ethan) loves water. We knew he’d spell there. (When we) return him to nan lake, he has a life overgarment on. He knows he tin jump successful nan h2o and his feet float up and he tin beryllium there,” Morgan said. “We’re beautiful judge that’s what happened. He saw h2o and thought ‘I get to spell float.'”

They propose that aggregate group beryllium assigned to watch each kid successful your group erstwhile adjacent water. They besides highly urge group study really to decently execute CPR by taking much than 1 CPR training people truthful it becomes “engraved” and “autopilot” if ever needed.

Ethan’s parents person known really to do CPR for years and they in installments their CPR trainings to helping prevention their son.

“We had afloat connected beforehand life-support instrumentality pinch america that we could’ve utilized to thief him respire if he wouldn’t respire connected his ain but did we request it? No. Our hands and knowledge were each that we needed,” Morgan stated. “Having that knowledge perfectly saves a life.”

Morgan and Crystal would for illustration to convey nan first responders and infirmary unit who helped their family during this incident.

Ethan and Crystal Young astir an hr aft nan accident. | Courtesy Young family

Young family. | Courtesy Young family