PROVO — A 3-year-old boy who nearly drowned in the Provo River remains unconscious at Primary Children's Medical Center — but his rescuer continues to keep an eye on his progress.
The Provo boy, who spent at least 6 minutes floating face down in the quick-moving current is breathing on his own, but doctors have not seen much improvement in his status, said Provo Police Capt. Rick Healey.
The boy who slipped into the river Sunday afternoon while playing near the edge was rescued by Officer Mike Bastian, who jumped into the above-waist-high water to grab the boy.
"I'm calling every morning and night to check on him," Bastian said.
As of Monday afternoon, doctors were worried about swelling of the brain but didn't know if it was from lack of oxygen or trauma from hitting rocks along the way.
The child was throwing rocks into the river with a group of children but lost his balance and slipped down the embankment into the river. A fellow picnicker saw the child fall and began screaming.
However, because the family of the little boy spoke only Spanish, they initially didn't understand her, Provo Police Officer Brad Macfarlane said. Three separate calls were made to 911.
"I'm glad someone had the forethought to call for help," said Macfarlane. "Had they waited, with the flow of the river, where he was going, (he could have been) all the way to Geneva before anyone got to (him)."
Macfarlane, also part of the rescue effort, was near the park when the dispatch calls came. He headed down 800 West and saw the child, but before he could jump in, the child was swept downstream. So he began running — 2 1/2 blocks at "full-sprint" speed, trying to keep the child in sight in the fast-moving water.
The boy's royal blue shorts and a white diaper were crucial as visual aids, he said.
While Macfarlane ran along the side, Bastian passed him in his car. He got out of the car and jumped into the river. Once Bastian had the child, Macfarlane jumped in to help Bastian keep his balance in the rushing water.
According to the police dispatch record, the child had been in the water less than seven minutes. Once the team got to shore, they began CPR until paramedics arrived.
"It seemed like it was forever," Macfarlane said. "I was trying to use the radio with one hand, do compressions with the other hand."
Minutes later, the child was whisked away in an ambulance to the hospital, where he began breathing on his own before being flown to Primary Children's Hospital.
"Knowing Mike, the kind of guy that he is, he's just an extremely dedicated officer," Macfarlane said. "He has a few kids of his own, you could see from the determination on his face, that's probably what he was thinking at the time — 'That's someone's kid, (I'll) do what I can to help them.' "
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