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Love Works a Miracle
"There goes Cruiser again," thought Cindy Dunlop when she heard a splash in the family swimming pool. Cruiser, a springer spaniel, frequently jumped into the pool just for fun. Cindy was in the garage around the corner from the patio. She was talking on the phone to a friend who had called to chat.
But suddenly Cindy sensed that something was wrong. The splash she had heard was followed by dead silence. Quickly Cindy said goodbye and hung up the phone. She hurried around the corner and saw-to her horror-her 17-month-old daughter, Kyla, floating face down in the 15×30-foot pool. Cruiser was running back and forth along the edge of the pool, trying to save the child by grabbing Kyla's clothing with his teeth.
Most mothers would have simply jumped into the pool and pulled their child to safety. But Cindy Dunlop was not like most mothers. She was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of an automobile crash 12 years before. Because of her disability, Cindy had been forced to adjust to life in a wheelchair. At 90 pounds, Cindy swam regularly for physical therapy but needed assistance getting in and out of the pool.
Now, on October 7, 1986, Kyla's life rested in her mother's hands. Cindy didn't have time to phone for help. There wasn't anyone nearby, anyway. The Dunlops lived in the isolated desert town of EI Mirage, California. Cindy's husband, Ron, had gone off to work several hours earlier. The nearest rescue squad was 25 miles away. And the nearest neighbor was half a mile down the road.
?Knowing she couldn't grab Kyla from the edge of the pool, Cindy had only one choice. She drove her wheelchair straight into the chilly water. As the chair sank, Cindy began to swim over to Kyla, who was still floating, face down, 25 feet away. When Cindy reached her daughter, she managed to flip her over. Then she grabbed her and towed her to the edge of the pool. Kyla's eyes were closed and her lips were blue. She wasn't breathing.
Frantic with fear and panic, Cindy tried to lift Kyla up and out of the water while holding onto the edge of the pool with one arm. "She was so limp and heavy, I couldn't," she later said.
Cindy realized she would have to find another way to get Kyla out. She took a deep breath and let herself sink to the bottom of the pool. With her arms under Kyla's body and her fingertips gripping the edge of the pool, Cindy used her head to push the child upward. She managed to lift Kyla out of the water, but couldn't get her over the edge onto the concrete. When she tried, the little girl fell backward into the pool.
? Desperately, Cindy kept trying. Finally, by keeping her head straighter, she was able to roll Kyla up and out of the water. Then, propping herself up on her elbows at the edge of the pool, Cindy reached out and turned Kyla toward her. Her daughter still wasn't breathing. With fear gripping her heart, Cindy pinched the child's nose shut and began puffing short breaths into her mouth.
?At first, there was no response. Again and again Cindy puffed breaths into Kyla's mouth. Finally, Kyla's body lurched, and she began to cough and spit up water. Then the little girl started to cry. "It was the greatest thing in the world to hear that scream," Cindy said.
?Cindy called 911, and she and Kyla were rushed to a hospital. Cindy's feet, elbows, and hands were badly scraped from crawling across the concrete. Kyla, however, was fine. Before long, she was giggling and playing as if nothing had happened.
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