Publication Date: Friday, December 19, 2003
Residents honored for timely rescue
Residents honored for timely rescue
(December 19, 2003) Trio saved 5-year-old from drowning
by Rachel Metz
For 5-year-old Jeremy Fu, the events of Aug. 10, 2003 -- the day he almost drowned -- are still vivid.
"He remembers going under. He remembers the fact that he was sinking," Fu's father, Steve, said.
Then, thanks to the rapid aid of locals Raymond Bayer, David Charleson and Dr. Hulya Kaymaz, Jeremy Fu was pulled from the pool.
On Tuesday, the three rescuers were honored by the Palo Alto Police Department in a small ceremony.
"If it weren't for these three individuals we may very well have lost a child here in Palo Alto to a drowning," Palo Alto Police Capt. Brad Zook said.
A letter of thanks was presented to each rescuer and Fu shared gratitude and hugs with the trio.
"During Thanksgiving we gave thanks for what you guys did," Steve said.
The ceremony brought back the events of Aug. 10, 2003 -- a date that is still fresh in the rescuers' and Fus' minds. That day, Charleson held a pool party at his house for incoming Hoover Elementary School kindergarteners and their parents.
During the party, Charleson noticed Jeremy spread-eagled at the bottom of the pool. He briefly wondered if the boy was diving, he said.
"For about half a second I looked at him and then realized it was a really dumb thing, contemplating if he was diving," he said.
He jumped in and pulled Jeremy out, then ran to call 911 while Kaymaz and Bayer performed CPR on Jeremy. Kaymaz, an internist, knew how to perform CPR but had never done so on a child, she said.
Bayer remembers performing mouth-to-mouth, and knowing at the time he wasn't really doing it correctly.
Still, "none of that really mattered. What mattered was doing something," he said.
After four or five attempts, the little boy was breathing on his own again.
"I feel really good that the result was so good," Bayer said.
Still, both Bayer and Charleson feel torn -- they helped save Jeremy's life but also feel somewhat responsible for him ending up in the situation.
"When I think about this I'm half ashamed that it happened at all," Charleson said.
Jeremy, who did not attend Tuesday's ceremony, is physically fine, Zook said. But since the August incident, Jeremy hasn't been swimming.
"He says he doesn't want to sink again," Steve said.
Rachel Metz can be e-mailed at rmetz@paweekly.com
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