Heros recognized for saving drowning boy

By Lethbridge Herald on September 28, 2024.

Paramedic Mike Humphrey presents Carter Lam with a survivor plaque while he stands with the heroes who saved his life, his young friend Benjamin Nuñez, along with paramedic Nicholas Spencer, Dr. Ryan Derman, paramedic in training and YMCA life guards Michaela Mcfarlane and Drew Armener and YMCA lifeguard Reese Walper. Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services recognized a group of community members, including a 10-year-old boy, for saving his friend’s life during the summer at the Cor Van Raay YMCA pool. 

While enjoying their summer vacation, 10 year-old Benjamin Nuñez and nine-year-old Carter Lam were at the YMCA pool on July 29 and because of the events that unfolded during that visit to the pool, LFES recognized Nuñez for his bravery and heroism Friday morning. 

Nuñez told reporters that while at the pool with his friend, Lam decided to challenge himself to cross the pool in one breath, but unfortunately didn’t make it all the way through. 

“He started to swim and then I saw some bubbles come up and then I started to go to the other side wondering what happened. I saw him at the end there, he was just there and for a second I thought he was joking, but then I jumped in,” said Nuñez.

He explained that he tried to tell somebody to help, then he heard a whistle, and someone has started to do CPR on Lam.

During the boys’ visit to the pool, unbeknownst to them, an off-duty physician was in the hot tub at the time, while an off-duty paramedic was on a treadmill overlooking the pool area from the gymnasium above and some of the lifeguards on duty were paramedics in-training. 

“It was scary, I just felt scared but I couldn’t just leave him there,” said Nuñez.

Carter’s mother Candice Lam, told reporters Friday she was very thankful for the actions of everyone involved in saving her son’s life. 

“I actually wasn’t there. They go swimming together all the time. They’re both strong swimmers. I was actually at home chopping veggies as it was a Monday afternoon around supper time,” said Lam. 

She explained that she was making supper when she received a call from the YMCA about the incident. She was informed about her son requiring CPR and that an ambulance was on its way. 

“We live about three minutes away from the pool, so myself, my husband and my older son, we jumped in the car and met the ambulance there. By the time we run into the pool area, Carter was conscious and he was sitting up,” said Lam. 

She said she did not remember much of what happened that day as she was focused on making sure her son was okay. She said being able to hear everyone’s side of the story during Friday’s event and being able to meet everyone who was involved in saving her son’s life was wonderful. 

“He went to the hospital that evening by ambulance and stayed for a couple hours. They monitored him, they did chest X-rays and there were no cracked ribs, there was no external bruising,” said Lam. 

She said Carter went back to the pool a couple of weeks after the incident and he is doing very well since. 

Nicholas Spencer, the off-duty primary care paramedic firefighter with LFES that was on-scene during the incident told reporters that his daughter and Dr. Ryan Derman’s, the off-duty physician who was in the hot tub at the time of the incident, were swimming as they are long-time friends, while he was working out in the upstairs gym.

“I had just finished doing my workout, was cooling down on the treadmill. I could see Ryan in the hot tub. And we were waving and making funny gestures towards each other and all of a sudden, he got up in a hurry and exited the hot tub,” said Spencer. 

He added that right after this he saw a lifeguard pulling a body out of the pool, so he jumped off the treadmill and made his way to the pool area as fast as he could. 

“When I got to the deck, the lifeguards had already cleared everybody out of the pool and into the changing rooms and I saw Ryan doing CPR, so I ran over to help and asked for the AED and just controlled the young gentleman’s airway while Ryan was doing CPR,” said Spencer. 

He explained that him jumping into action had nothing to do with him not trusting the lifeguards on duty’s skills, but it was simply instinct. 

“Never ever crossed my mind that the lifeguards there wouldn’t be able to do anything or wouldn’t do things properly or anything. With 20 years of EMS experience, I wasn’t just going to sit there and watch something like that happen. I wanted to get in there and do everything I could,” said Spencer.