Deborah Rae O’Shields saved Jaimi A. Cunningham from drowning, New Castle, Delaware, December 10, 1995. Jaimi, 7, broke through the ice covering the deep end of a partially drained swimming pool and submerged in the frigid water. Ms. O’Shields, 33, secretary, who lived nearby, was alerted to the situation and immediately responded, barefoot, to the scene. Although the air temperature was only 20 degrees, Ms. O’Shields made a cannonball dive through the ice when she did not see Jaimi in the pool. Submerging in two attempts, she looked for Jaimi by circling the deep end of the pool, and during one resurfacing attempt, she hit ice overhead. Submerging a third time, Ms. O’Shields located Jaimi; she grasped his jacket and pulled him to the surface, then broke a path through the ice to a ladder on the pool’s side. Another woman who had responded took Jaimi, who was unconscious, from Ms. O’Shields. Jaimi was hospitalized for treatment of hypothermia, and he recovered.
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