Nursing assistant performs CPR to save toddler pulled from lake

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPTV) - Jermya Adams, a certified nursing assistant, knew something was wrong when she heard someone banging on her door.

“She was knocking on everyone’s door, screaming,” Adams said.

The nursing assistant said she saw a toddler unresponsive on the ground.

West Palm Beach Police said the 22-month-old boy slipped out the back screened door while his mother was in the bathroom.

Police said he was pulled out of the lake nearby, then Adams said she started CPR.

“The whole time I was giving him compressions I was actually talking,” Adams said. “I was like, ‘God, this is a child. This child deserves everlasting. This is a baby. Whatever you do, use me to be a hero to this child right now.’”

Sometimes prayers don’t always work, but this time police gave credit to CPR.

“The last report is the child is opening his eyes, has a gag reflex and apparently there is brain activity,” Michael Jachles, a spokesman for the West Palm Beach Police Department, said. “So that is certainly a good sign. ... We know that CPR saves lives, and hopefully this will be the case.”

Adams didn’t know the boy’s condition when she jumped into action; she said she just hopes she made a difference in his life.

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