Oct. 24--PASCAGOULA -- A police officer was recently honored for saving the life of a little girl April 28.
Sgt. Dale Gordon said he had just made a patrol through one of the city's parks on that April day when he received a call about a child who had drowned at Pointe Park.
"I was the first to respond and arrive on the scene, and all I could see when I pulled up was a lady frantically waving," Gordon said.
Gordon said he ran across the dunes and down to the water where several people were surrounding a small child lying on the sand. The 3-year-old had turned blue, had no pulse and wasn't breathing.
"I immediately rolled her over, tried to rinse the sand out of her face and eyes and started compressions," Gordon said. "She regurgitated and I started mouth-to-mouth CPR. After a few minutes you could tell she was attempting to suck in air."
American Medical Response showed up shortly after that but the terrain hampered their efforts to get a stretcher to the child, Gordon said.
He said he remembers thinking, 'We don't have time for this,' and then picked the girl up and ran her over to the ambulance personnel, who began stabilizing her.
"When they (injected) the IV and she started crying," Gordon said. "I felt so much relief in that moment because I knew if she could cry, she was going to be OK."
The child was taken to Singing River Hospital to be assessed and then sent to University of South Alabama Children's Medical Center in Mobile. The next day her lungs were clear, and "everything was great," Gordon said.
"When I saw that child on the ground, all I could think about were my own kids," he said. "Here I am a middle-aged adult, and this baby had not even been given a full fighting chance at life yet."
This wasn't the first time Gordon has had to respond to such a situation. In 1988, he had been on the force for seven months when he received a call about a 4-month-old child who was unresponsive in a crib at home. Gordon said he arrived at the house, put the baby on a chair and started CPR. Unfortunately, that time the child didn't make it, having died from sudden infant death syndrome.
"At that time, it really hit home for me because I had a 6-month-old baby of my own at home," Gordon said. "I remember falling on my knees in that front yard and just crying like a child."
Gordon said he feels children are truly innocent and true victims when tragedy strikes, because they can't control their surroundings.
"These situations aren't always a reflection of the parents' ability to protect their children, either," Gordon said. "This little girl was apparently scared to death of the water and would never go near it, so the mother said she felt OK just walking over to the cooler for a second. The next thing she knew, she turned around and saw her child floating face down about 15 yards off the beach."
Gordon said tragedy can strike in an instant.
"Thankfully, this one turned out to be a happy ending," he said. "I asked the mother to send me a picture of the little girl for myself, and I keep it in my phone to this day to remind me."
Pascagoula Mayor Robbie Maxwell presented a life-saving medal of honor to Gordon at the City Council meeting Oct. 16 and proclaimed it Dale Gordon Day in the city.
Copyright 2012 - The Sun Herald
