Truant officer puts CPR skills to use

By Jennifer Bowen, as published in the Belleville News-Democrat .

Seconds ticked by slowly as if in slow motion, as the O'Fallon woman pulled an unconscious 6-year-old boy from the deep end of her swimming pool.

Terri Ettling-Shell tried desperately to remember her cardiopulmonary resuscitation training as she knelt near the wet, unresponsive body of Dylan Miller.

"I had just taken CPR training and I was trying to remember, was it puff, blow, and push, or push, blow, then puff?" Ettling-Shell said. "But once I got him out, it was like a video in my head and I just did it. I was really scared, but I did what a mom does, I did something anyone would do."

Ettling-Shell, an attendance-truancy officer at Cahokia High School, has received far more attention for saving Dylan's life than she ever expected. She is modest about the recognition, adding that she doesn't think she did anything extraordinary to warrant the awards and attention.

Ettling-Shell was recognized by O'Fallon for "her superb lifesaving skills and thanks for her quick action in saving the life of a young swimmer." She was given an award by the O'Fallon Fire/Rescue for the "skills and ability shown in the rescue and resuscitation in the near-drowning of Dylan Miller," and she received a Lifesaver Award from the St. Louis Area Chapter of the American Red Cross as a local hero earlier this month.

Dylan, now 7, was swimming with Ettling-Shell's son, Nicholas Ettling, 12, and a few other neighborhood friends in May when he wandered a bit too far into the pool and slipped down the deep end slope. Dylan didn't know how to swim, and in his panic he inhaled water, struggled and went under.

Ettling-Shell was sitting on the edge of the pool, keeping an eye on the six children swimming, when her son, Nicholas, yelled at her that Dylan was drowning.

"I wasn't sure how long he'd been under. It could have been less than a minute, but to me, it felt like 30 minutes," Ettling-Shell said. "After it all happened, I started questioning myself, wondering if I needed new rules for the pool or if I just needed to fill it with dirt."

She did add a new rule to the pool: All young swimmers can't get in the pool unless a parent is present.

Ettling-Shell credits her Red Cross CPR training with her ability to revive Dylan. She was first certified in 1987 and has renewed her certification about six times since then.

Dylan is the son of Annette Miller and O'Fallon volunteer firefighter Lt. Shawn Miller.

"Without her, we wouldn't have him today," Annette Miller said. "(The near-drowning) has helped us become pretty good friends. We didn't know them very well before this happened, and it had been the first time Dylan went over to go swimming. Now we've been over to their house a few times for get-togethers and birthday parties."

Dylan's near-drowning was the first time Ettling-Shell had ever had a reason to put her CPR training to use.

"I never, ever want to have to do CPR again, and I hope to God it's the last time I have to use it," she said. "I can't imagine what would have happened had I not been certified. What was really scary was he was so lethargic afterwards, but I was never so thankful to see a kid vomit in all of my life."

The Millers plan to sign Dylan up for swimming lessons, but have found every spot filled at the public pool. Fall swimming lessons at the YMCA indoor pool would fit the bill, Miller said.

"He seems OK with swimming, but he doesn't like to go too deep. If he goes over his chest, he gets worried," Miller said. "Swimming lessons are definitely something that will happen because he is interested in learning how to swim."

Said Ettling-Shell: "I know that Dylan's parents and family are thankful, and for me, their thanks are more than enough."

She encourages everyone to get CPR training.

"You never know when you're going to need it," she said.