Being out on the beach is a great way to spend a free day with family!
There’s nothing quite like running through the sand, diving into the sea, and collecting seashells.
Many kids also like digging in the sand or being buried in some.
But sand, though it seems innocent and light in small amounts, can pack quite a lot of weight.
This is something poor Alyssa Bostic, who is five years old, found out while enjoying a sand cave at the beautiful Marian Dunes.
Alyssa, together with her friends, had been spending their beach day digging little grooves of sand from the sand dunes around the area.
One of the holes that Alyssa dug seemed pretty big, and it had formed a small cave-like structure.
She decided that she could crawl into the hole and try to fit there.
boy finds little girl buried alive
But then the unthinkable happened. The cave, being made of light sand, collapsed in on her, sealing her only exit and leaving her trapped with no air.
Luckily, it wasn’t long before Connor Fitz-Gerald, a young boy just 11 years old, happened upon the spot where the accident took place.
He spotted the bag lying alone in the sand and immediately knew something must have been wrong.
He started to dig in the area and soon begin to see that a small, young girl was stuck in the sand.
Connor quickly looked around, instinctively seeking out any grown-ups who could help.
But there was no one nearby and he knew he had to act fast, as the girl likely was running out of precious oxygen.
boy finds little girl buried alive
So Connor did what he knew he could.
He tried to figure out where her head might be and worked to dig in that area so she would have access to oxygen.
Finally, he was able to pull her from the sand.
The bad news was that she wasn’t moving and looked lifeless. She was also barely breathing.
Connor could have become frightened or panicked, but in his mind, he knew her life depended on whether or not he could think quickly.
He noticed that the girl had sand in her nose, mouth, and even eyes. So he did what he knew might be the best option – he started to perform CPR.
This young man had never learned how to perform CPR properly, but he’d watched TV shows, such as NCIS, where he saw such moves in action.
Although he wasn’t 100% sure what he was doing, his actions actually worked! Alyssa drew in a big breath and started to breathe again.
Alyssa’s parents soon came by and found out what had happened.
They were absolutely shocked and horrified dialed 911 immediately.
According to paramedics who arrived on the scene, if not for Connor’s actions, Alyssa may not have survived.
Thankfully, she has now made a full recovery, and Connor’s quick, calm thinking has him hailed a hero!
Incidentally, if you find yourself in a situation like this, you can perform chest compressions on the affected individual.
Locate the general area of their heart and push up and down at 100 beats per minutes – about the same beat as BeeGee’s Stayin’ Alive, or Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie.
