A young girl paid a very special visit to the White Lake Fire Department on Monday night. She wanted to meet and thank everyone who helped her following an incident that took place on May 27th at Goldstons Beach in White Lake.
The personnel gathered at the fire department had an emotional reunion with the young girl whose life they helped to save. Chief Dale Brennan said everyone involved–from those bystanders who pulled the young girl from the water, to those who started CPR to the First Responders, EMS, law enforcement, and the 911 dispatchers–he said they each played a vital role in saving her life.
Brennan said, “A lot of people were praying for her when she was put in the back of that ambulance.”
He added the doctors at Duke Children’s Hospital kept giving the first responders updates on her progress. Once she was discharged, she wanted to say, “Thank you.”
“She came and paid us a visit at the fire department last night,” said Chase Lancaster with White Lake Fire Department. He was just one of the many who responded to the call for help that day.
Lancaster said of the visit, “It was very emotional to say the least.”
Natalie Russ, who works at Southeastern Health in Lumberton, described the reunion as emotional. “God saved her, not me or anyone else that day,” said Russ.
According to Chase Lancaster, with the White Lake Fire Department, the young girl was unresponsive when she was pulled from the water near Goldstons Beach by bystanders. He said CPR was started and she was transported first to Cape Fear Valley-Bladen Healthcare in Elizabethtown then to Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville and on to Duke Children’s Hospital.
Natalie Russ said she was at White Lake with her husband, Joseph Russ and their family for the weekend. She said they were in Goldstons Gift Shop when she heard what she thought was a scream. She said she looked outside and saw two people carrying an unconscious girl out of the water. Russ said she told her husband she was going to assist the young girl. Russ said when she got to her, the girl was unresponsive.
She said another bystander began CPR and Russ and her husband, Joseph Russ, also joined in and assisted with CPR. Russ said many of the bystanders assisted the rescue effort in many various ways from offering towels to assisting in drying the girl off.
“There was a lot of people there to help,” said Russ.
The helicopter was paged but was unable to respond and land due to a pending a storm. The young girl was revived and was transported by ambulance to Cape Fear Valley-Bladen Healthcare.
As Russ recalled assisting the child, she wrote in a heartfelt post on Facebook, “I remember her eyes to this day and today (Monday night) I was able to see them in a different way.”
Russ described the reunion on Monday as a very joyful occasion. “When I heard she was being discharged on Wednesday, I was amazed she pulled through,” said Russ.
She added it was a joy to meet the young girl and get to talk with her.
Russ also said knowing how to correctly perform CPR is very important and she encourages everyone to take a course in CPR.
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