BALLARD, Uintah County -- A 2-year-old Ballard boy remains in serious condition at Primary Children's Medical Center after nearly drowning in an irrigation ditch near his family's home May 27.
Dayman O'Driscoll, son of William and Lisa O'Driscoll, was playing in the sandbox in the back yard with his 6-year-old brother while his parents were inside the house preparing lunch around 11 a.m. when he wandered off, said his grandmother, Mary Kettle."He just loves the water so much, and the ditch was clear full that day and running fast, so he probably went to the ditch and fell in," said Kettle. It's estimated that the youngster was under water for about 20 minutes. His father spotted his hand and pulled him out of the ditch just as he was about to go through another culvert, said his grandmother.
CPR was administered while waiting for emergency aid to arrive to transport him to the Uintah Basin Medical Center. It took about an hour before doctors could get a pulse and revive him. He was then flown to Primary Children's Medical Center.
The boy is showing some improvement and is doing better than doctors thought he would, said Kettle.