When Brad Hassig lost consciousness in his family’s backyard swimming pool, his twin sons and neighbor heroically rose to the occasion to save his life.
In an interview on “TODAY” on Wednesday, the proud dad told Hoda Kotb how his sons Christian and Bridon Hassig and their friend Sam Ebert jumped into action on the day of the scary incident.
Brad explained that he was doing breathing exercises underwater when he “just blacked out.”
The three boys, who were nearby the pool, quickly realized that something was wrong.
“I noticed that he wasn’t OK, because he was laying on his side and his face was starting to turn blue,” Christian – who joined his father, brother Bridon and pal Sam for the interview – told Hoda.
These young boys were able to save their dad’s life by remembering a CPR scene from one of their favorite movies, “The Sandlot.” @hodakotb is talking to them about the terrifying moment and their bravery. pic.twitter.com/Pxl6v8y0lc
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 6, 2022
Christian alerted Bridon and Sam, who dove into the water, grabbed Brad and pulled him next to the pool steps.
Neither of the boys were trained in CPR, but Bridon – who had seen the life-saving procedure performed in scenes from movies like “The Sandlot” and “Hook” – began modeling what he’d remembered from the scenes.
The 10-year-old gave his dad mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, while Sam listened for a heartbeat.
“I was like, I’ve had some moments with him, with happy, sad and some mad moments, but I’m like, ‘I don’t want this to be the last moment,” Bridon recalled of the thoughts running through his head as he tried to revive his father.
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— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 6, 2022
Meanwhile, Christian ran to find help, as he was unable to get past the passcode on his dad’s locked phone to call 911.
“I ran to a neighbor’s house, but they weren’t home at the time, and a car started driving by,” he recalled. “I stopped them and told them, ‘My dad can’t breathe, help him.’ … I was running as fast as I could.”
Soon, Sam felt a pulse, and Brad began coughing up water.
“Everyone was everywhere. There were first responders,” Brad remembered. “I heard ‘Daddy, Daddy, come back. Daddy, you have to be OK.’ It was crazy.”
Brad was hospitalized and diagnosed with hypoxia, pulmonary edema and shortness of breath. He’s since been released and is currently on the mend.
“I’m so proud of my boys,” Brad told TODAY Parents in an interview last week. “I tell them, ‘Remember you guys are heroes’ and I will be grateful to them forever. And Sam is such a kind and gentle kid. It’s a bond now.”