BAPTIST LAKE, Michigan (28 August 2007) -- A young boy is in guarded condition in a Michigan hospital after nearly drowning during a PADI scuba diving course at Baptist Lake. Local sports fisherman Todd Thompson saved the 12-year-old boy after hearing screams from the PADI scuba diving instructor who was teaching the course. Thompson heard the instructor and other divers screaming for help just as he started to pull his boat out of the water after a day of fishing at the lake. "I had the boat at the launch and was backing up onto the road," Thompson told reporters. "There was a couple of the divers that started screaming out in the water." The divers were in the water about 140 meters from the boat launch where Thompson was standing when he heard the screams. Thompson jumped into his boat and headed out to the group but the boy was still underwater when he arrived. Finally, the boy's mother pulled him up to the surface. "It seemed like it took forever to bring him up," Thompson told reporters. "I pulled him in from this side and had his legs laying over the front of the boat...he wasn't breathing and it didn't feel like he had a heartbeat or a pulse." Thompson immediately started to administer CPR while the other divers pushed the boat back to shore. The boy was rushed to Spectrum Health Hospital where he is listed in guarded condition. Although Thompson probably saved the boy's life, he said he doesn't consider himself a hero. "I was on the shore for a while and my arms are still shaky and my nerves going crazy. It was quite a traumatic day," Thompson told reporters. "I am proud of myself, I'm just glad I could help the boy out. I don't consider myself a hero or anything, just glad I could be there for him." | | Recently, the unregulated U.S. dive industry rolled out scuba diving courses for kids to "grow the scuba diving industry" according to PADI, a privately-held company based near Los Angeles, California that sells scuba diving certification cards, fish feeding scuba holidays and sports apparel. Thompson said the dive instructor told him the boy probably ran out of air or his air hoses were tangled. Recently, the unregulated U.S. dive industry rolled out scuba diving courses for kids to "grow the scuba diving industry" according to PADI, a privately-held company based near Los Angeles, California that sells scuba diving certification cards, "interactive" fish feeding scuba holidays and sports apparel. Some scuba diving instructors have stated they will not teach children to scuba dive due to concerns about the physiological and psychological differences between children and adults. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORKSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
