June 19, 2023, is a day BSN student Olivia Schzure won’t soon forget. While on duty as a lifeguard at the Cranberry Community Waterpark in Cranberry Township, PA, she noticed a young boy who didn’t exit the water after she called for a safety break and blew her whistle.
“After the young boy looked up at me in confusion, I realized that something wasn’t right,” she said.
Schzure said the boy started bobbing in the water and, in a split second, went underwater and started to spin.
“I immediately activated the emergency action plan and jumped into the water,” she said. “Upon my arrival to the child, he went unconscious on my rescue tube. I then called for a backboard to extract the child from the water. This is when the whole facility realized that this was more than a normal save.”
Schzure said her older brother, Nicolas Schzure, along with another lifeguard, Paige Welch, jumped in to help the 12-year-old boy. They were able to bring him to the edge of the pool where he regained consciousness and was assisted by EMS crews.
“This is my third year of being a lifeguard, and I never imagined that something as severe as this would come about in my career,” she said. “The training I received from the Cranberry Township Waterpark was intense, but this training saved this child’s life.”
In recognition of Schzure’s heroic actions, she, along with the lifeguards on duty that day, including Greta Schmidt, Garrett Shreve, Welch, and their Red Cross instructor David Hunter, was honored by the American Red Cross Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter with the Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders. The national program recognizes trained professional responders and health care professionals acting while on duty. The group was honored during the Cranberry Township supervisor's meeting on Thursday, February 1.
“My reaction to receiving this award was truly heartwarming, knowing that someone is alive today because of me,” she said. “This inspired my nursing career and drove me to want to do more. Being recognized was definitely an odd experience because I’ve never received an award as amazing as this one and I truly didn’t know how to accept it.”
PHOTO: credit Butler Eagle (From left, Paige Welch, Garrett Shreve, David Hutner, Olivia Schzure and Greta Schmidt receive the Red Cross “Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders” for their actions in saving the life of a 12-year-old boy at the Cranberry Community Waterpark over the summer. The team was presented with the award during the Cranberry Township supervisors meeting on Thursday, Feb. 1. Zach Petroff/Butler Eagle)