And when he was invited to attend the Jackson Twp. trustees meeting July 14 he didn’t know that he’d be receiving an award for his actions.
“We work very closely with the kids at the pool, and wanted to recognize him for this,” said Fire Chief Tom Wallace. “Kids will run, fall and hurt themselves at the pool, and we respond — but this was the first time we’ve responded to a situation like this. A 1-year-old went under and wasn’t breathing when she came up. One person started shaking her, then Mike came over and gave CPR.”
Mike, who had just graduated from Ashland University, has worked at the pool six years; as a lifeguard three years, head lifeguard for two and this year as manager.
“It was a great opening weekend, then a patron ran to the building asking for help in the baby pool,” recalls Miller, son of Liz and Ken Miller. “I was at the pump house when the assistant manager came to get me. I ran to the baby pool, saw the situation, and my years of training just kicked in.
“I simply reacted as I had been trained and had trained others to do, but this was the first time I ever had to put it to use. I administered CPR, and the baby responded.”
Miller, whose degree is in sports management, does CPR training at Spires Sports Academy in Geneva, Ohio, as well as for pool employees.
The staff called 911 right away, then the fire department. “They did everything correctly, even doing crowd control — everyone was on their A-game,” he said.
Although Miller’s reactions were automatic, “I went into shock afterward. I couldn’t believe what had happened.”
When he was told that Chief Wallace wanted him to attend the July 14 trustees meeting, he didn’t know why. “When I got there, people started clapping and the chief presented me with a plaque ‘for heroic duties on May 31.’ I was very surprised and happy.
“Chief Wallace lets us use the department’s CPR dummies for training, responds to falls and bumps, and comes out to check on us. He does great things for us here at the pool,” said Miller.
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