LAS VEGAS - As a 20-year-old Army Guardsman was about to leave his home with his family last August, Steven Thompson heard a banging at his door.
He opened the door to find his neighbor in a panic. He could only discern one word from the frantic women: “Drowned.”
The off-duty Guardsman sprang into action. Without hesitation, he darted to the next-door backyard where they had been having a birthday party for their two-year-old son.
There, Thompson found the lifeless toddler, who had just been pulled from the family’s jacuzzi. He had no pulse and was not breathing.
The soldier’s training took over as he and his mother, who had followed him over, immediately began CPR, saving the boy’s life.
Spc. Steven A. Thompson, a wheeled-vehicle mechanic with the 17th Special Troops Battalion, Nevada Army National Guard, was awarded the Army Commendation Medal on Nov. 2, 2013, at the Las Vegas Readiness Center, for using his military training and first-aid skills to save the boy’s life.
Brig. Gen. Michael K. Hanifan, NVANG commanding general presented Thompson the award and praised his quick actions.
Also in attendance were Thompson’s family, Command Sgt. Maj. Jared J. Kopacki, NVANG state command sergeant major, Eric Guideng, a field representative for NV Congressman Joe Heck, and three local news stations.
Guildeng presented Thompson with a certificate of congressional recognition from Congressman Joe Heck, who could not be in attendance.
“It was almost like I floated over there,” said Thompson, recalling the events of last August.
As he entered the back yard, he saw the boy’s mother kneeling over the boy yelling for help from her father, the boy’s grandfather, said Thompson. The boy had been underwater for about 5 minutes.
Thompson had been trained in CPR prior to joining the military. He received additional training when he attended a Combat Life Saver Course shortly after joining his unit two years ago.
He and his mother continued CPR as emergency crews started descending onto the scene.
The North Las Vegas Fire Department was the first to show up, six minutes after the start of CPR, he said. Thompson and his mother continued to perform CPR without stopping.
“I was performing CPR a good 10 to 11 minutes,” he said. The baby was still not breathing and had no pulse.
Within a minute before the Las Vegas Fire Department paramedics showed up, Thompson felt a pulse.
“Right after that, I saw his chest start to rise,” he said. “I remember yelling out to my mom that he’s breathing on his own.”
Thompson was so intent on performing CPR that he didn't even notice that the boy’s family, emergency crews and local police had gathered around, he said.
“When that moment was happening, it was just like me and the baby and then just my mom’s voice,” he said.
The child was hospitalized for about a week, and Thompson visited with the boy the first night he was in the hospital and the first day he got home.
His first day home the boy was playing basketball and was full of energy, said Thompson. He continues to keep in contact with the family.