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MANTI — A mother returned to a public pool Thursday to thank the lifeguards who saved her child's life.
"The lifeguards did their job and did it perfect. That's why he is alive," said Elizabeth Allred.
It took a lot of courage for Allred to return to the Manti pool with her 7-year-old son, Wylee. He showed her what happened last week when he nearly drowned.
"Going down the slide and going into the deep end, that's all I really remember," Wylee said.
But 16-year-old Maylee Blauer remembers it well. She had been a lifeguard for just three weeks.
"I noticed this little boy, and I had this strong feeling to keep my eye on him," she said.
Moments later, Blauer could see a body at the bottom of the deep end of the pool. Shortly after she dove in, 17-year-old Jared Christensen helped pull Wylee out of the water.
"He wasn't breathing, so I gave him a rescue breath and that's when he started breathing on his own," Christensen said.
EMT's rushed Wylee to a hospital. He was transferred to Primary Children's Hospital and kept overnight for observation.
"I am really glad for this outcome," Blauer said. "He's a cute kid; he really is, so I am really happy he is OK."
Thursday Wylee returned to the pool with a big card for his new friends and a simple message.
"Thanks for saving me," he said.
His mom says she owes a debt of gratitude that she can never repay.
"I am so proud of these lifeguards and what they did, their level of skill for being just kids is phenomenal," she said.
The incident provides a lesson to parents, she said.
"This is such a wake-up call, and a gentle reminder that when we do go to pools to make sure that we are not letting the lifeguards be babysitters," she said.
