Several families’ lives changed in a span of less than 5 minutes on Aug. 11 when Julia Minor, 2, fell into a pool without a flotation device on.
“It literally happened in the blink of an eye,” said Lacey Minor, her mom. “… She says she's done swimming. I take her puddle jumper off … I stand up to dig in the barbecue and all of a sudden, I hear from afar, ‘It's Julia! It's Julia!’ I turn around, and they’re pulling her out of the pool.”
Quick thinking by the family’s close friends, brothers Brandon and Robbie Poche, saved Julia Minor’s life. Now, Brandon Poche has been honored by the St. James Parish president, and all involved are advocating for residents to get at least one family member CPR certified.
Mere minutes
The gathering at Robbie Poche’s house in Paulina was a typical one for the families. Lacey Minor said they had known the Poche brothers for many years and viewed them more as family.
At the time Julia fell in, Robbie Poche said, he was on the other side of the pool with his back turned, talking to someone.
“The guy I was talking to pointed and said, ‘Robbie, that little girl just jumped in the pool. I think she’s in trouble,’” he said. “… I got there as fast as I could. Picked her up. She was conscious when I picked her up. She blinked once, and then went unconscious.”
Hester resident Brandon Poche, 31, was walking back from the other side of the house when he saw what was happening.
“I come back, and I see my brother Robbie rushing out of the pool with the child in his hand, kind of upside down and panicked,” he said.
Robbie Poche handed the girl to her father, Jeff Minor, who started patting her on the back. That’s when Brandon Poche stepped in.
“[I] could see fluid coming from her mouth, so I directed him to keep patting on her back roughly 15, 20 seconds until the flow of fluid slowed down,” he said. “And then from there I told him, ‘Give me her.’ I placed her on the ground, put my ear to her chest, didn't hear a heartbeat … I then started performing CPR on her.”
He performed five rounds of CPR. She was beginning to turn blue in the lips.
On the fifth round, she gasped for air.
“This all took place in relatively a minute and a half, maybe two minutes,” he added.
By the time emergency services arrived, she had regained some consciousness. Lacey Minor said her daughter was then transported to Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge, where she stayed two nights.
“When she woke up, she was herself. She was her, smiling,” she added. “She's doing well now. It's a blessing.”
Poche honored by parish government
Brandon Poche said he learned CPR training during his time serving in the U.S. Army while stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. There, he also received training in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Life Support (ALS), and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS).
But despite his extensive training, he said the situation’s stress still affected him.
“I didn't know how to handle the emotions like immediately after,” he said. "So I called some military guys that are in my support system.”
Talking with them helped him feel better, he explained.
He added he feels grateful he was able to save the girl's life. He implored everyone to not only have a family member be CPR certified but continue to get trained on an annual basis because it’s a “physical skill that you can lose.”
“I've had the pleasure of being in an atmosphere of high intensity and training for years through my service, and it was muscle memory during that event,” he said. “I've probably conducted the practice of CPR well over 100 times just through those four years.”
His brother echoed the comments and emphasized the shock it had on his family.
“Our kids have swum twice … they used to swim about five days a week. I don't know. It's weird. It’s a weird feeling,” he said. “… [I’m] thankful as all as could be that my brother was here, because I don't know what would have transpired had he not been here.”
Others said similar remarks. At Wednesday’s St. James Parish Council meeting and in a Thursday news release, Parish President Pete Dufresne hailed Brandon Poche as a hero.
“Without a doubt, Brandon saved Julia’s life,” Dufresne stated. “Many people think they know CPR, but please take a moment to ask yourself if you feel ready to implement it at a moment’s notice. I would like to personally encourage every family to have at least one member certified in CPR.”
To that end, the families have been advocating for residents to take a CPR/First Aid class at the St. James Parish Hospital in Lutcher. The next one is scheduled for Oct. 22, and community members can sign up online at www.sjph.org.
And Lacey Minor said she and her husband could never thank the brothers enough.
“Our life is indebted to them. They saved our girl, you know, like our outcome would have been completely different, I think,” she said. “Who said I could have done it under pressure given the circumstances that it was my kid, you know?”