by Melissa Ferguson

(This story was written about in the Miami News Reader April 8, 1997)

In April of 1997 my son Bradley, who would turn five years old in May, was once again under my feet and causing mischief. Trying to get the dishes done, I handed him a cinnamon roll and told him to sit on the back steps to eat it. There was a above ground pool out back but we had a safety gate built around it and it was locked so it didn't cross my mind to be concerned about it, especially since Bradley was always the tattle-tale if anyone went near it. With him outside and the baby taking a nap I finished the dishes in about 15 minutes, and it suddenly dawned on me that that was the first time I had had any peace and quiet in months so I decided to take advantage of it. I grabbed a Coke and started to sit down on the couch, when a voice calmly said, "Bradley is in the pool."

I started to walk to the window, but thought I was being silly so I started to sit down again. This time the voice shouted at me, "BRADLEY IS IN THE POOL!" I walked to the window and saw the cat wet, and clinging to the side of the pool, but could see nothing else. I walked out the door and a calm took over as I saw my son floating face down in the pool. It felt like I floated over as I walked, strangely not feeling anything yet. I grabbed him by the overalls and pulled him out, somehow knowing he had been in there since he first went out. I found no pulse, and yet was I still calm, though the knowledge that he probably couldn't be resuscitated went through my head. We lived out in the country so calling for help would not get me anywhere; but something guided me through the house and out the front door and there sat a power line truck. I screamed for them to help me, and couldn't stop screaming once I started. They dropped all the live wires they were working on and ran to our house. They then took turns doing CPR until the ambulance arrived, at which time he was brought back. Several hours later he was being just as ornery as ever and we were thrilled.

The doctors were amazed. They said his blood gases showed he had been under around fifteen minutes - which very rarely allows a successful resuscitation. Then, too, we had had a freak freeze the day before. The power line guys were not even suppose to be there but every time they tried to leave something would go wrong and they couldn't get away. Amazingly these men had just taken CPR classes the month before.

There are too many little details that had to be perfectly in place for this to have a happy ending for it to be anything but a miracle, and of course hearing the voice that I feel so privileged to have experienced. God definitely has other plans for Bradley.

Oh yes, thought you would like to know that the whole time I swore that Bradley must have been trying to save the cat, later we found out he was having to time of his life, DUNKING the cat, and lost his balance. He has always kept us on our toes and will continue to do so thanks to God's angels above and a few human ones, also.