On the evening of Friday, June 12, 10-year-old Marley Parker was enjoying the summer like many other children in Henry County.
She had a few neighbor friends over to play and they spent the evening jumping on the trampoline and swimming in the backyard pool.
However, in a matter of minutes, the happiness of the day quickly faded.
Parker and one of her friends were playing in the shallow end of the pool when, unbeknownst to them, the youngest of the children, a girl of four years of age, jumped into the deep end of the pool without her inflatable floaties.
The young girl did not know how to swim and immediately began to sink.
After diving under the water with her friends, Parker said that she saw the little girl lying at the bottom of the deepest end of the pool.
“I saw something at the bottom of the pool but then I looked closer and it was [the girl],” said Parker.
Parker told the Times that she was running out of air underwater, but she continued to swim deeper to get to the little girl.
“I was running out of air but I knew I could hold it more, so I held it as long as I could and brought [the girl] up to the surface,” said Parker.
Melissa Rommelman, mother of Parker, said she turned her back for about two minutes to run and grab a pair of glasses and her cell phone when the incident occurred.
“The next thing I know, the kids are hollering and Marley has [the girl] and she is unconscious,” said Rommelman.
Rommelman made it back to the kids, helped to lift the little girl out of the pool, and immediately began administering CPR until the little girl began to respond.
“When I was doing the CPR, she was lifeless. It was the most horrible and terrifying and scary thing all at one time that I had ever experienced in my entire life,” said Rommelman. “It was tragic but had an amazing ending.”
Parker then called 911 and remained on the line with dispatch until Company 10 of the Henry County Fire Department arrived on the scene.
Chief Michael Black, Assistant Chief of Prevention and Fire Marshal with the Henry County Fire Department, stated that Parker and Rommelman’s actions on that day were instrumental in saving the life of the little girl.
“We are extremely proud and encouraged because it’s proof that fire life safety prevention efforts work if the message is gotten out to the community,” said Black. “It was an extraordinary feat on the part of both Marley and her mother, especially Marley being 10 years-old. She’s truly a hero in our eyes.”
He credits the actions of Rommelman and Parker in reinforcing the Chain of Survival, from the American Heart Association, in the emergency situation they experienced.
“There’s a series of events that could increase the likelihood of survival in any incidence. The first, being able to recognize there’s a problem. The second, rapidly dialing 911,” said Black. “That critical link are the citizens. If the citizens take action before the fire department gets there, the outcomes are always a lot better.”
On Thursday, June 18, the Henry County Fire Department awarded Parker with a certificate of recognition, gave her a Henry County Fire Department badge and named her an honorary firefighter. Henry County Fire Chief Luther Phillips also gave Rommelman and Parker special challenge coins in recognition of their valiant efforts.
“I was honored to get an award, but I only did that because I did not want her to die, didn’t want her to not breathe,” said Parker. “I just wanted to make sure [the girl] was okay.”
As for the brave actions of her daughter, Rommelman said that she “couldn’t be prouder.”
“She just made a decision as a 10-year-old and she didn’t even hesitate,” said Rommelman. “Seconds counted and Marley did that on her own instinct. She just rose to the occasion.”
The parents of the four-year-old girl declined to comment on this story and requested that the young girl remain unnamed.
