BRIDGE CITY, Texas — A quick-acting group of individuals at a birthday party on Sunday in Bridge City are being credited with saving two girls from nearly drowning.
A 9-year-old and a 14-year-old girl were unresponsive after being pulled from a swimming pool at a birthday party on Hardy St in Bridge City, according to Capt. Elgin Browning of the Bridge City Fire Department.
Off-duty nurse Mary Stankus, who was at the party, tells 12News Lauren Boothman and Jonah Lemoine helped rescue the girls from the water
At that moment, Stankus and her brother, Vu Nguyen, jumped into action, performing CPR on both girls, and was able to revive both of them before first responders arrived at the home, Browning told 12News.
Cara Nguyen called 911 and that's when paramedics husband and wife, Robert and Jenne Crane, arrived at the scene.
"My partner yesterday happened to be my wife and we have a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old. So, responding to this call it was a matter of just get to the call like don't worry about what's going on with ours. I mean your first thoughts go to your own kids."
As the ambulance rushed to the scene, they realized they only had enough equipment for one patient.
"We were having a conversation on the way to this call as to how we were gonna treat two patients at a time when we only had one cardiac monitor, only one way to defibrillate a patient," Robert Crane said. "Then when we got an update on their status. It was more of a discussion on getting them to the highest level of care possible."
The couple didn't know it at the time, but that's when they realized Stankus and Nguyen were performing lifesaving CPR on the two girls.
When the ambulance arrived, the Cranes took over and prepared the girls to be transported in a helicopter.
"Because when you intersect with a helicopter, it's all about timing. We don't want to be waiting on them, they don't want to be waiting on us. We want to meet there almost exactly at the same time. So, the patient moves as quickly as possible from one to the next," Robert Crane said.
Paramedics are hailing this nurse a hero and want to thank her.
"I was like I don't know who the little angel was on scene, but we're gonna have to find her. So, she did an amazing job and she's welcome to come ride on our ambulance anytime with me."
Both girls were taken by ambulance to the Orange County Airport on Texas Highway 87 where they were flown by helicopter to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston according to Browning.
Both girls were in stable condition when they left for the hospital.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.