Dad Counts Lucky Stars After 3 Young Boys Save Him From Drowning In Backyard Pool.

Bridon and Christian Hassig and friend Sam Ebert

Most dads are just glad to get a new tie or a BBQ gadget on Father’s Day, but Brad Hassig got the gift of a lifetime this year… literally!

Just days before the holiday, Brad was doing some deep breathing exercises in his backyard pool while his twin 10-year-old sons, Bridon and Christian, played with their friend, Sam Ebert. Brad does this meditation every day, sitting cross-legged on the bottom of the pool for minutes on end. But on this particular day, something went wrong.

The Mountain Brook, Alabama father-of-three says he finds performing these exercises in the pool “peaceful and relaxing,” but he doesn’t remember finishing them that day. At some point he stopped breathing and fell over onto his side, his face turning a pale shade of blue.

Christian noticed that his dad was sitting in a different way than usual so he put on his goggles and dove into the water to confirm his suspicion.

“Dad’s not okay!” Christian called out to his brother.

Bridon told Sam to call for help, but since they didn’t have any cell phones with them Sam had to run to a neighbor’s house. When he discovered that no one was home, he ran outside and flagged down a passing driver who called 911.

Meanwhile, Christian and Bridon dove down to the bottom of the pool and grabbed their father by the shoulders. They dragged him over the pool’s stairs, but he was not breathing. Although he’d never done CPR before, Bridon said they’d seen it done on TV. Bravely, the boy began to administer CPR and rescue breaths all the while begging, “Please, dad, come back.”

Soon, rescue vehicles arrived on the scene and neighbor Dr. Siva Krothapalli rushed over to see what had happened. He helped the boys pull Brad all the way up to the pool deck and continued administering CPR until the authorities arrived. It was then that Brad began to cough and sputter – he was back!

“It was like I just got slammed on my side,” Brad recalled. “When I kind of came to – I’m coughing up blood and water, struggling to breathe, and there’s people everywhere. My one son was yelling, ‘Daddy, daddy, come back!'”

After spending a night in the hospital, Brad was able to go home. Now, he’s counting his lucky stars that he wasn’t alone in the pool that day, and he’s urging others to never swim alone. Most importantly, he couldn’t be more thankful that his sons and their friend were paying close attention to their surroundings and were able to act so quickly to save his life.

“I love them,” said Brad. “I’m very proud of them and grateful. I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life.”

Bridon and Christian both got new cell phones after this incident, and the whole family plans to enroll in CPR and lifesaving courses. We’re so happy that these three boys were able to give this dad the most important gift of all: the gift of more time together.

Don’t forget to share Bridon, Christian, and Sam’s harrowing rescue story with a friend.

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