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Uncle recounts attempt to save niece's life as she drowned
Posted at: 06/15/2012 5:41 PM
| Updated at: 06/15/2012 6:58 PM
By: Abigail Bleck
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EAST GREENBUSH--The Downers' once assembled, above ground pool is now symbolic of how the family feels: broken and in pieces after Sabrina Downer drowned in it Wednesday.
"I don't even want to go in the yard," says Arnold Downer, Sabrina's great-uncle, "It's hard, really hard."
Sabrina's grandfather and uncle thought the 20 month old was napping. When they went outside, an adult noticed something in the pool. Arnold saw that it was the baby.
"I really don't know what I'm doing, but I'm not gonna give up," recounts Arnold.
Uncle Dee Dee, as Sabrina called him, doesn't know CPR. But instinct and adrenaline kicked in and he immediately started working on the child.
"She was blue when I got her out of the pool. But she got her color back, spit water out and was starting to breathe."
According to the family, Sabrina was revived when rescue workers arrived and the little girl was loaded into the ambulance. That was the last time they saw her alive.
"She was full of life--always wanting to do everything on her own. So independent," remembers Arnold.
Memories of Wednesday will forever haunt the Downers.
"I just keep seeing her on the ground and me over her," explains Arnold through tears.
But memories of Little Sabrina are also what's helping them to continue on.
"It's hard when she's not around," cried Arnold.
The Downers don't believe emergency crews arrived quickly enough and they say first responders should have taken over CPR as soon as they arrived on the scene.
A police department spokesman tells NewsChannel 13 that protocol was followed and their response, as well as the EMT's, was "immediate."
The family has set up a fund to cover Sabrina Downer's funeral costs. You can donate at any Berkshire Bank in the Capital Region.
