ST. MARTINVILLE, L — A local man was honored Thursday for pulling an unresponsive 9-year-old from the bottom of a pool and performing compressions until the child regained consciousness.
Kayden Hayes received a life-saving award from St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux — the first time the sheriff has presented the honor to a civilian.
The rescue
Hayes was at the Bon Temps RV Park pool when he spotted 9-year-old Kevin Gonzales motionless at the bottom of the water.
"I go in the water, and I get tired of waiting, you know, I dive in and I pick him up, and he's just — he's pale, he's limp, his eyes are wide open, and he's not breathing," Hayes said.
With no formal training, Hayes performed chest compressions for approximately eight minutes until Kevin regained consciousness.
"So I'm watching his grandmother and his aunt panic, and I'm just trying to, like — I'm thinking in my head like, all right, you got to do this, you got to go, you got to do it now." Hayes said.
The honor
Sheriff Breaux said the incident resonated with him personally.
"Thank God Kayden was there, you know, uh, something happened to me, and it hits home with me because when my daughter was about 6 years old, the same thing happened," Breaux said.
Hayes said the response felt instinctive.
"It was like an instinct; it just came out of me. I didn't think there was anything there," he said.
Hayes said he would act the same way again.
"Everybody needs a little bit of saving, so if I would do it 10 times over, I'd do it again 1000 times over no matter who it was, but I'm just glad he's okay. I'm glad his family is okay. I hope everything works out for him and everybody is happy," Hayes said.
