upworthy

inside edition

Heroes

A maintenance worker heard screams coming from a pool. He did not hesitate to act.

There are heroes everywhere.

Canva

A young person's hand sticks up from the water.

At first, it seemed like any regular sunny day in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. An apartment complex security camera captured the sun shining over the wispy palm trees. A six-year-old boy named Oscar was on vacation with his family and was lounging on an inflatable raft in a pool. Unsteady, however, he slips off the raft into the water, and frighteningly—he can't swim.

His cousin, standing at the edge of the pool, also can't swim, and luckily had the foresight to not jump in after him. Two people who can't swim is definitely worse than one. Panicked, Oscar flails and slips under, while his cousin screams for help. It was terrifying. He tries to push the raft over to Oscar, yelling, "Oscar, grab it!" But he can't.

At the same time, Roque Ivan Ocampo Calderon, who was doing maintenance on the property, happened to hear the screams. In the video, he runs out with absolutely no hesitation, takes his shoes off, and jumps in. He quickly gathers Oscar in his arms and swims him to safety, though he needed the cousin's help to lift him out of the pool. But here's the kicker: Calderon admitted he wasn't a very good swimmer either.

What happened next was a masterclass in first-aid: Ivan begins administering CPR and, quite possibly, according to news reports, saved Oscar's life.

At this point, people nearby began to gather to see how they can help. Oscar's mom had been notified and soon she can be seen frantically running to the scene as any mother would. Police and EMTs arrive, but Oscar is not out of the woods. As shown on Inside Edition, a police officer asks how long Oscar was in the water, and Calderon answers, "Maybe two minutes." He's taken to the hospital and, after two days, was able to return home, a healthy boy.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

As reported by Yahoo News, in a news press conference, Calderon relays, "I started doing CPR. The kid wasn’t breathing, but I kept doing it and doing it until he started breathing again."

The ample news coverage of the story spawned many articles and reports under many of which commenters are hailing Calderon a true hero. Quite a few are also moved by how relatable this scary moment is—not only to the viewer, or any parents out there, but also to the journalists. One notes (referring to Inside Edition), "I've never seen an anchor get emotional like that, She was almost crying."

Another gives a note that could be helpful should someone else encounter someone drowning: "He took his shoes off first. Always take off your shoes—they can collect water and inhibit you from creating a surface to push off underwater. Even advanced swimmers can have difficulty swimming with shoes on, let alone saving someone else too."

 pool, swimming, safety, water, hero A picture of a swimming pool.  Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash  

And one reminds us that, despite the judgment some seemed to impose in the comments, this could happen to anyone. "I vividly remember being 7 years old and jumping into the deep end, not knowing how to swim. Thankfully, someone was there to save me… Learning to swim is a life skill that every child should have the chance to develop early. It can make all the difference."

From Your Site Articles
drowning rescue
Heroes

'We're kidney sisters': Woman donates a kidney to her husband's ex-wife

via Inside Edition / YouTube

Ten years after her first date with Jim Merthe, Debby Neal-Strickland, 56, and her beau were married at a Florida church. Two days later, she was on the operating table donating a kidney to his ex-wife, Mylaen Merthe, 59.

"She's a person and she needed a kidney and I had one. I was healthy enough to give it to her," Debby told "Good Morning America." "She's also the mother of my guy's kids and they were having their first two grandchildren."

Debby's act was a beautiful example of giving. However, in a world where relationships between people who've shared the same spouse are usually a bit tense, Debby is a saint.

Jim and Mylaen have been divorced for over two decades but got along well as they raised their two children. So when Mylaen entered the picture, the two women were friendly with one another but never too close.

However, their relationship has become a lot closer now that they share more than just family. The women now refer to each other as "kidney sisters." "[We] usually text every single day," Debby said. "We talk quite a bit."

Man's New Bride Donates Her Kidney to His Ex-Wifewww.youtube.com

Before the transplant, Mylaen had long suffered from kidney disease. Her kidneys were functioning at just 8% and she appeared pale with dark circles under her eyes. She was due to become a grandmother and Debby couldn't stand the idea of her not being there for her daughter and the new arrival.

I just couldn't not try to change that," she said according to Fox News. "God told me, 'You're a match and you need to do this.'"

Debby was also compelled to help all she could because she spent years waiting for her brother with cystic fibrosis to get a lung transplant. "When somebody needs an organ, if they don't get it, they're probably not going to make it. I know it's something that you do quickly," she said.

After months of testing and delays caused by the covid-19 pandemic, the transplant was successful. Once Debby regained consciousness after the surgery, all she could think about was Mylaen. "`I need to see her.' That was the first thing out of my mouth."

Debby could see the difference in Mylaen's appearance almost immediately. "She looked so alive and revitalized," she said.

Even though the three of them were wearing masks there was no mistaking the incredible emotion they all felt after the surgery. "We had our masks on too, so we're crying, and of course our stomachs were hurting because of the incisions," Mylaen said. "We kinda laughed and cried."

After the surgery, Mylaen moved in with her daughter to recuperate. The kidney sisters can't wait to see each other at a big family reunion in Georgia this summer.

"This is what the world is about. Family. We need to stick together," Mylaen said. "She saved my life."

"I have a lot of love for her," Mylaen added. "She's a family member."

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
family
Popular

Mother says cops were 'harassing' her because of daughter's playdates at neighbor's house

via Inside Edition / YouTube

In a video making the rounds on social media, a mother claims she is being harassed by the Calmut Country Sheriff's department in Wisconsin for allowing her seven-year-old-daughter go to a neighbor's house for a play date.

In the video shot by a mother who goes by Amy, the officer asks her a direct question about the current stay-at-home order. "Are you aware that we're at a stay-at-home order right now? By the government?"

Amy confirmed she knew about the order but still allowed her daughter to visit a neighbor's house.

"Stop having your kid go by other people's homes," the officer orders Amy.

At the end of the altercation, the officer asks Amy for her full name but she refuses.

According to the sheriff's office, when the video was taken, it was the fifth contact they'd had with her in recent weeks.

Amy later elaborated on the situation with Inside Edition. "The way they talked to me was completely disrespectful," Amy said. "I had done nothing wrong from the moment they opened up the door. He immediately started yelling at me."

"I have a right to be outside my home," she said. "I don't have to be locked in my home."


Mom Says Cops Are 'Harassing' Her Over 7-Year-Old's Playdatewww.youtube.com


The video has made Amy a hero to some who believe the government doesn't have the right to tell us to stay inside our homes during the pandemic. So is she right? Has she done "nothing wrong" by violating the state's stay-at-home orders?

Legal experts say that stay-at-home orders or similar proclamations "effectively carry the force of law."

The Supreme Court hasn't said much about people's liberty during epidemics. Although, in 1905, during a smallpox epidemic, a pastor argued that a mandatory smallpox vaccine violated his Constitutional rights.

The Court acknowledged that "the liberty secured by the Fourteenth Amendment . . . consists, in part, in the right of a person 'to live and work where he will.'" But it added: "in every well-ordered society . . . the rights of the individual in respect of his liberty may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand."

Most would agree that asking Amy and her child to stay indoors for a limited amount of time is "reasonable" to protect the safety of the general public.

The video has also made Amy the subject of scorn for those who believe she's creating putting people's health in danger for repeatedly allowing her child to visit friends' houses during the pandemic.

Studies show that children are less likely to show signs of being infected with COVID-19. They are also less likely to be hospitalized or die because of the disease.

However, that doesn't mean that people like Amy shouldn't worry about allowing their children to play with other children.

The problem is that children can appear to be completely healthy and then transmit the disease to those who are more likely to be symptomatic.

"[Social] distancing and everyday preventative behaviors are recommended for persons of all ages to slow the spread of the virus, protect the health care system from being overloaded, and protect older adults and persons of any age with serious underlying medical conditions," the CDC said in a special report.

As Americans, we should be forever vigilant that our Constitutional rights are upheld and maintained. But being a good citizen has less to do with the legal ramifications of our actions and more to do with how they affect our fellow citizens.

There are a lot of great reasons to argue over the legality of the state order, but there are far fewer ways to rationalize putting our friends' and neighbor's health in jeopardy.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
coronavirus
Trending Stories