By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
A 1-year-old girl was listed in serious condition Tuesday night at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center after what medical responders termed a near-drowning.
Kyla Weaver’s parents, Paul David (“P.D.”) and Eileen Weaver, called 911 around 5 p.m.Tuesday after finding her unresponsive in the bathtub at their Woodleaf home on Parks Road.
Initial emergency communications said Kyla had been missing for around 10 minutes, but according to family friend Bertha Sommers, the child had been in the empty tub and apparently turned on the water herself.
“We were talking in the kitchen when all of a sudden, (Eileen) was like, ‘I need to go check on her, because I think I hear water running,’ ” Sommers said. “Then, I heard, ‘Jesus, help my baby. Jesus, help my baby.’ She was frantic.”
According to Sommers, Eileen ran into the hallway with her daughter and called for her husband. A few people also rushed over from the family business next door called Rentabarn.
Sommers, a Mocksville resident who is a licensed professional nurse, said she and others performed CPR on Kyla for five minutes to revive her before medical responders arrived.
“I was imagining the worst, because there was no response at all,” Sommers said. “We just prayed and prayed, and we kept doing CPR, and then she did the first little gasp. We kept going, and then she started breathing on her own. … We believe Jesus is the only person who brought her back.”
She said Kyla had just started walking the week before. The Weavers have three other children aged 5, 7 and 10.
Rowan County Sheriff’s Office detectives were at the home and at Rowan Regional Medical Center, where medical responders initially took Kyla. She was reported to be crying there before she was transported to Wake Forest Baptist.
Calls seeking comment from the Sheriff’s Office were not returned Tuesday night.
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.