Anadarko Community Recognizes Women Who Saved Drowning Toddler

A Caddo County toddler who was under water for nearly three minutes is alive today thanks to some quick actions.

The Anadarko girl nearly drowned, but her heroes took turns performing CPR to bring her back. Now the town is recognizing the women.

Sarah Allen holds her daughter tighter these days after she nearly lost her.

At a backyard party in August, Hayvn had finished swimming so she took off her floaties, stood on the deck below and to the side of the above-ground pool, and sprayed flowers with a water hose.

Then suddenly, she was at the bottom of the pool.

“I kept thinking in my head, ‘It can't be a child, it can't be a child,’” said Andrea Wall, who called 911.

Sarah recognized Hayvn's little swimsuit when she looked in the pool.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is a dream, it can't be happening, you need to wake up,’” Allen said.

Brena Alexander, who is pregnant, dove in to the water to get Hayvn.

“One of the images I can't get out of my head is Brena coming up out of the water and seeing Hayvn and just blue, lifeless,” Wall told News 9.

Hayvn's mom, a nurse herself, tried CPR, but collapsed at the sight of her lifeless child. Fellow nurse, Lacy Koch, took over.

“I just went into nurse-mode,” Koch recalled.  “I said, ‘start CPR now,’” she added.

Koch and Alexander took turns doing breaths and compressions on Hayvn.

“I just had this horrible gut feeling, you know, like she wasn't going to make it,” Koch explained.

Nine other kids were in the backyard at the time, watching Hayvn slip away.

Wall and Jil Alexander, Brena’s sister, rushed the children inside the home.

“Once I got inside with them, all I knew to do was I gathered them in a circle, we held hands and we prayed,” Wall said.

Allen watched her friends perform CPR for what seemed like forever, wondering the outcome.

“I'm sitting here thinking, ‘Even if she pulls through, what is her life going to be like,’" Allen said.  “And she's perfect,” she added, looking at Hayvn.

Hayvn eventually started coughing and got her color back before heading to the hospital that day.

Amazingly, she has no lasting effects from her near-drowning.

The City of Anadarko honored the women for their heroic efforts and Hayvn's parents cannot thank them enough for "Savin' Hayvn," as one friend put it.

“We just don't take anything for granted,” Allen told News 9.  “We realize, you know, you always think that won't happen to me and now you realize, it can,” she added.

“She's truly a miracle baby,” added Koch.

A GoFundMe Account has been set up to help pay for Hayvn’s medical bills.