How I saved my daughter

A father yesterday recounted the dramatic moment he rescued his three-year-old daughter from drowning.

Raymond Levon and his daughters, Monikah, 3 and Maalika, 6, were visiting friends at Brightside Guesthouse when tragedy nearly struck.

He explained to the Bermuda Sun what happened and issued  a heartfelt warning to fellow parents: ‘Don’t take your eyes off your kids in the pool.’

Mr Levon recounted: “It was 1:30pm and we were sitting outside. I heard my six-year-old inside — she must have broken a glass or something. I went inside to tend to her real quick. I was helping to clean up and stuff.

Jumped in

“The next minute, I came out and I said, ‘it’s quiet’. Next thing I know, I saw my daughter in the pool.”

He continued: “I just jumped in. She was very flexible and I started doing CPR on her. She [was sick] in my mouth, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to save my daughter.

“After I did CPR, she screamed out my name. The ambulance came and they rushed her to the hospital.”

The incident happened on Saturday and Mr Levon, who is certified in CPR, said Monikah was in hospital for the rest of that day and all day Sunday.

“She’s back to normal [now]”, he added. 

Referring back to the moment his daughter almost died, Mr Levon, a mould specialist said: “We were just lounging. We were with friends. I stay in Smith’s but we were here visiting friends who invited us to the pool. I had the girls with me so I came by.”

Asked how long he tended to his older daughter, Mr Levon said: “Probably three to four minutes. When I got to the pool, Monikah was at the surface face down. She wasn’t unconscious, she was going in and out. I brought her back. Her eyes popped out of her head.”

Asked if he would have done anything differently, Mr Levon said: “I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I’m a qualified lifeguard and the first thing is to do CPR on my daughter. She’s very flexible so I knew she was going in and out of consciousness.

“There were other people out here but they had left so it was just me and her out here. She had taken her clothes off and had the lifeguard ring.”

Offering a warning to other parents, Mr Levon said: “I would say to keep your eyes on your kids. They are precious. They came into this world for a reason. Just love them. Keep a good eye on them.”

Mr Levon and his girls were staying at Brightside for the rest of the week to relax after the incident.