'Not all superheroes wear capes': Child rescued from pool

The co-owner of a P.E.I. company that runs day camps for kids is crediting the quick and calm actions of her staff with preventing a tragedy.

On Wednesday the Sperenza day camp was making one of its twice-weekly field trips, this time to Lord Selkirk Park in Eldonto enjoy the playground and pool there.

There were nine staff looking after the 43 children, when one of them got into trouble.

He, unfortunately, submerged.- Aleida Tweten

"We had one little fellow who went in the deep end after our staff had said no, you need to stay in the shallow end because you cannot swim," said Sperenza co-owner Aleida Tweten.

"He, unfortunately, submerged, and our staff pulled him out, did CPR and rescue breathing and had him revived before the first responders arrived."

The boy was not breathing when he was pulled out, said Tweten.

Tweten said three of her staff were directly involved in the rescue, while six escorted the other children to the nearby playground and made sure they were safe there.

The child was sitting up and talking when the ambulance arrived, said Tweten. He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and Tweten said a doctor there told her the boy is doing fine.

"I'm very, very proud of our staff. One comment that was given to me was not all superheroes wear capes," said Tweten.

"I'm so proud of how calm they stayed and how professional they were and how quickly they did it."

A review of language policies

The boy is a recent immigrant to P.E.I., and Tweten said language could have been a barrier to him understanding the camp's safety policies.

All children at Sperenza are required to take a swimming test. Tweten said staff did their best to make clear to the boy that he was not allowed in the deep end, but with an increasing number of immigrants now joining the camps, Sperenza will be considering whether to hire a translator.

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