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A Father’s Day Miracle: Family Speaks About 3-Year Old’s Near Drowning
June 20, 2010
In the heart of every little girl, her daddy is her hero. For a 3-year old Walnut Hill girl found floating lifeless face down in a pool, her daddy truly is her hero.
“I can swim,” Maggie Scott, 3, proclaimed Saturday morning, as she showed off her new kittens Max and Ruby.
Like most adventurous children, Maggie thought she could swim, and she decided, when no one was looking, to try. It was a mistake that would alter the lives of her family in a major way.
The afternoon of May 27 was to be a family time. They were headed to a local creek to enjoy the water, but decided to stop at a someone’s home in the Bay Springs community to use the pool instead. Maggie had played in the pool with the rest of her family, wearing arm-floats.
When Maggie and her sisters — McKenzie, 13; Madison, 9; and Mary Paige, 7; were done in the pool, it was time for skateboards and Ripstiks. The girls hit the boards, while the adults sat around talking.
Life would change in the blink of an eye.
“Maggie’s dead!”
Those were the heart-stopping words that older sister McKenzie screamed when she saw Maggie, floating face down in the pool. Mom and dad, Blair and Chad Scott, raced for the pool. Blair dove in and pulled Maggie out. No one knew how long the little girl had been in the pool.
Chad started CPR.
“My mind went where it didn’t need to go while I watched him do CPR,’ Blair said, “knowing what could be happening.”
With every thrust on his daughter’s chest, Chad said he just prayed.
“I keep telling her to come back to us; I kept telling her she was fine,” Blair said. “I wanted the nightmare to end; I wanted God to bring my little girl back to me.”
Chad continued CPR. One. Two. Three..
“Then I realized I had three little girls standing there, not knowing what was going on. Hit your knees. And pray,” she told them. “They cried, they screamed, they prayed.”
Chad continued the CPR. Breathe. Chest compressions. One. Two. Three…
Then, there was a cough.
Volunteers from the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue arrived. Atmore Ambulance sped down the long driveway. LifeFlight landed. Maggie was quickly scooped up by a LifeFlight nurse who ran to the helicopter. Within minutes, she was at Sacred Heart. Blair and Scott were left behind in Bay Springs, not knowing what was happening with their little girl. A family friend drove them to the hospital, where Maggie was still in the emergency room. She was transferred to an intensive care room.
It was a serious situation. A ventilator breathed for Maggie for 28 hours, doctors and nurses standing nearby at the ready. It was a lot for a mom and dad to deal with.
Blair and Chad both knew at the time that Maggie could have permanent disabilities caused by the lack of oxygen to her brain.
“We just gave it to God,” Blair said. Their family, their church family…they all prayed. They were joined by perhaps thousands of people they will never know that prayed after reading Maggie’s story.
Miracles don’t just happen, Chad said. “God works miracles.”
There’s no doubt in Blair and Chad’s minds that there lives were changed in a big way by the whole ordeal. For Chad, it meant being saved and accepting his Savior all over again.
“I thought I got saved before, but I realized,” he said, “and I made a promise to do what He needs me to do.”
A few weeks after the accident, Maggie is a vibrant little girl, with no obvious lasting impact from her ordeal.
“We have blueberries,” she said Saturday morning as she walked through the family’s backyard in search of a cool, shady place for the photos on this page. “They are purple,” she observed. “They are not blue.”
She smiles and grabs a dandelion, blowing it into the wind toward Chad, very much to her delight. It was a prelude to her big Father’s Day plans.
“Guess what I am going to do to you for Father’s Day?” she asked Chad. Her grin grew bigger as she put her hands behind her back and twirled around. “I’m going to throw a flower at you!”
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
The family specifically asked us to offer their thanks to: the Walnut Hill Fire Department (Chris Brown, Kevin Mininger, Dennis Rigby, Gerry Steege, Tab Jernigan, Bill Eubanks, Brian Rolin, Chad Rigby, Johnathon Koehn, Diann Stewart); Atmore Ambulance (Dianna Chavers, Tom Benner); and the LifeFlight Crew (Tom Bruner, Angie Finkel, Norman Lacsamana).
Comments
34 Responses to “A Father’s Day Miracle: Family Speaks About 3-Year Old’s Near Drowning”
I had to undergo the same scenario as Maggie’s father. It was on the the 17th August 2013 that my dearest son Voumesh was prone to near drowning. He was saved by CPR done by Mrs Michelle from UK. It’s a miracle of GOD and Michelle was a God sent ANGEL. MANY THANKS TO MICHELLE FOR GIVING BACK MY SON IN MY LAP.
Hope floats eternal. My 18 month old daughter ended up in the pool on 3 Dec 2010. For 6 weeks she lay in ICU kept alive by machines and drugs. The doctors and nurses brought her back to life twice during that time and the best we could have hoped for was a vegetable. She left ICU to enter a rehab facility not seeing or responding to any stimuli. Through the divine intervention of the Almighty, a scant 2 weeks later and she is seeing, talking, walking, eating on her own, you name it. You would be hard pressed to see any evidence of the near drowning. MIRACLES do happen. God has in his infinite compassion given us our baby girl back. I bow before the Creator. So never give up hope!
Praise God my little Maggie Nut is ok and i got to hold that little thing in my arms this past weekend! she is truely a walking miracle! God is Great and Greatly to be praised!!
MAY THE LORD ALWAYS HOLD YOUR CHILDREN CLOSE TO HIS HEART MAY YOU NEVER HAVE TO FEEL SUCH A GREAT LOSS AS THE LOSS OF A CHILD,MOST OF US ALL CAN DEAL WITH LOSING OUR PARENTS AN OUR GRAND PARENT, BUT THE LOSE OF A CHILD HURTS SO DEEP THAT I CAN NOT PUT IT DOWN IN WORDS. YOU DON’T LOSE THE PAST YOU LOSE YOUR FUTURE YOUR HOPE & DREAMS AND ALL THE PLANS YOU HAVE MADE FOR YOUR CHILD, ALL THE TIMES U HAVE HELD THE BABY AND FELT HER HEART BEAT NEXT TO YOUR CHEST,THE TIMES YOU WERE ABLE TO STOP HER FROM CRYING BY HUMMING IN HER EAR, AND BEING ABLE TO HOLD HER , ARE ALL GONE IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. AND THE LAST FEW MIN OF HER LIFE ARE IN YOUR HANDS AND THE DOCTOR TELLS YOU THEY CAN NOT STOP THE SWELLING IN HER BRAIN AND IT WOULD BE BEST IF YOU LET YOUR BABY GO TO BE WITH JESUS,AND U HAVE TO MAKE THE DECISION TO STOP THE LIFE SUPPORT AND THEY ASK YOU IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HOLD HER WHILE THEY STOP THE MACHINE AND THEY HAND YOUR ANGEL BABY TO HER MOTHER AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS PRAY AND HOLD HER AS SHE SLIPS AWAY,I AM SORRY I HAVE NEVER TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE AND ALL I WANT IS FOR ALL WHO READ THIS IS TO MAKE SURE YOU WATCH YOUR KIDS AND NEVER EVER TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED THEY ARE ONLY HERE AS A GIFT FROM GOD AND THERE IS NO PROMISE FOR TOMORROW………A LOVING FATHER
what a wonderful blessing it was for me to hear Chads testimony when I went to purchase some carpet from his work place. I can still see the great desire to do God’s work in his eyes.I am bless’d to have heard his words of faithe. And yes God is still in the merical bussiness.His little girl is living proof of that.I know Chad has a mission now and his Savior will give him direction.
I would also like to thank the nurses and doctors at Sacred Heart Hospital. Because of their sense of urgency and responsibility to health and life, this little girl had a chance. In the past, I have seen the work, first hand, from SHH and how intense they take it when it involves a child. Thank you, SHH, and thank you, God. Maggie, you are a beautiful child. May you have a beautifully blessed life!
Need an uplifting story with all the negtivity in this world, God is good all the time, and All the time God is good! Chad and Blair keep the faith and love God with all your hearts. Jesus ROCKS!!!
God is so faithful!! God bless you all…Chad, you are correct….I LOVE hearing testimonies like this!!
God is Great!! She is a Miracle child! God Bless your family keep the faith! God will NEVER fail you!
Such a wonderful story of how God once again showed His love for your family and your sweet little Angel! May God continue to bless you! Isn’t He wonderful !
Oh, how He loves you and me! He gave his life, what more could He give….Oh how He love you even me! I am so happy you knew what to do…..pray while you’re working CPR….wonderful and God brought her back! Yes, what a miracle!
God’s got BIG plans for Maggie and your entire family!
What a wonderful God we serve.
Praise God.
We love you Maggie!
Thank you God…….
I am so very very happy for this family. I’m crying and I do not even know you. I feel like I know you though, after reading this. Awesome!
God bless Maggie and her family. This truly is a miracle from God. Maggie, you are a lucky little girl. Her dad has the best father’s day gift ever, his little girls life. HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!!!!!
It’s great that with hard work and training the paramedics were able to help this little girl. I’m always glad to hear stories like this
Just a reminder: for people who have an above ground pool, you might want to set the ladder over into the pool when everyone exits to help possibly prevent small children from climbing into the pool. I just want to say that this is a wonderful story with a happy ending and a good reminder for everyone to be so very careful.
This is a great uplifting story…and give those of us in EMS a real boost. Let us all remember the lessons that need to be taken away from this. Important safety factors to note:
Never, ever leave a pool area unattended without at least one adult who can swim continually watching the pool and nothing else. Dont leave the pool for even a second. Make sure the adult is responsible and not impaired or distracted in any way.
Never assume someone else is watching the pool.
Whether above ground or below, pools should be completely, independantly fenced in and not accessible except by a locked gate and should have an alarm in the pool itself.
Arm floaties or rings are not sufficient to protect a child who cannot swim. They should wear a lifejacket or flotation swimsuit when in a pool accessible area. However this still doesnt remove the need for an adult to be on constant pool watch.
If at all possible, call 911 from a landline so that the exact location shows up
on the 911 screen and help gets to you much more quickly. Make sure that your house numbers are large, reflective and clearly visible at the roadside by your driveway.
This beautiful girl has a rare, second chance at life and that is simply wonderful.
I read this and thanked God for working this miracle in the life of sweet Maggie and the rest of your family. To HIM be the glory for the great things He has done!
What a very touching story, my heart goes out to this family; I can only imagine how they felt and what was going through their minds the whole time. This was such a tragedy. Thank you dear god for helping this family know what to do to save their little girl. And thanks to God, The parents, Volunteers from the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Atmore Ambulance, LifeFlight, LifeFlight nurse, Sacred Heart Hospital… You all helped this precious little girl keep living… HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, I am sure this is the best one for this father; knowing that his little girl is still living. Bless this family…
I teared up reading this story, Maggie is a miracle thanks to her dad and family, and the good lord. God bless yall!
Thank God for the complete recovery of that little Angel, also I used to work with Chad and know how he is and it doesn’t surprise me that he did what he did along with the help of God. This story made my Father’s Day much much better.
Thank You
What a wonderful testiment to your faith in God! So happy for your family. Glad that you all knew what to do—CPR training is something that is so important, you never know when you will need to use it. CPR and prayers saved her. God is awesome!
This made me so teary. Thank GOD for miracles. Bless this family.
Praise God for the miracles he performs everyday! Maggie is so precious and God truly has big plans for her and everyone in her family! What an extra special Father’s Day it is for her Dad. This uplifting article was a breath of fresh air and those adorable pictures can’t help but make you smile!
What a touching story!! This brought tears to my eyes. God does work in wonderful ways. I am glad to see that the little girl is doing fine and may you all enjoy father’s day!
My heart is again filled with joy for God’s miracle in your family. Truly you have been blessed by the Lord. Happy Father’s Day to your entire family!
Gayle Hanks
What a great story! It brought tears to my eyes!
PRAISE THE LORD!
Reading this story brings tears to my eyes because God truly works miracles! Blair, I love how you told the girls to get on their knees and pray! Wow, is all I can say! I pray that God continues to bless your family.
Thank you God for all your many blessings and the power of prayer!
To GOD be the GLORY!!
THIS IS A TRUE HEART FELT BLESSING AND I THANK GOD YOUR DAUGHTER SURVIVED AND IS HEALTHY. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR MIRACLE WITH US. THIS IS A FINE EXAMPLE THAT THE LORD HEARS OUR PRAYERS. THANK YOU SO MUCH GOD !
Let me make something clear. The outcome is a wonder story. God still performs miracles.
Just a wonderful story to read about before I go to work. God bless you all and to Maggie…LOVE THOSE FINGERNAILS!