By Ray Lapine

On an August day at Silver Lake in Everett, 11-year-old Trenton slipped off a dock, got trapped in the weeds underneath it and couldn't come back up.

Thirteen-year-old Gauge Bryant dove in to rescue Trenton. Bryant had to dive in three times before he could find Trenton and pull him back up to the dock.

Enter Jennifer Fuller, Pam Olson and Jaqueline Zaqyrucha, three emergency room nurses who were together at the beach with their kids that day. Suddenly, they heard a woman scream and one of their kids yelled “Mom, run!”.

With about fifty years of emergency room experience among them, they didn't need to talk about what to do. They called 911 and started right in doing CPR with chest compressions and breaths.

They were able to switch off every two minutes or so, following the guidelines for when more than one person is available to do CPR. Chest compressions and administering breaths get tiring quickly; having trained people available to switch off keeps CPR most effective.

Just as firefighters arrived, Trenton started coming back. A few weeks later, he had fully recovered physically and started back to school. He's doing well, but still feels the emotional effects of what happened to him.

The three nurses credit Gauge for saving Trenton's life, saying that without his pulling Trenton out of the water, they would not have had the chance to give him CPR in the first place.

Gauge learned a lot from that day. He went on to get CPR-certified himself so that he would be more prepared if he ever was confronted again with something like what happened to Trenton.

Gauge also thinks about the risks he took that day. His struggles to get Trenton our of the water will make him think more about his own safety if he is confronted with a similar situation again.

Trenton's mom summed it up for everyone: “If it wasn't for Gauge and all of them, I don't think my son would be here today.”

The American Red Cross has lots of ways for you to learn CPR so you can be prepared to save a life.