Snorkeling accident nearly kills 5-year-old

Searching for his brother's hand underneath the water, Anthony Rilling, 9, pulled Nicholas's limp body to the surface on Oct. 17.
In front of a Puerto Rico beach resort, Kent Rilling, 41, performed CPR, a series of chest compressions combined with mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing, on his 5-year-old son. His wife, Cynthia Rilling, 38, observed from a short distance with her daughter, Andrea, 2, and twin sons, Anthony and Christopher.
"I heard Kent yell 'Nick, Nick -- Anthony, Where's Nick?' " Cynthia said. "He had to have been under the water for at least eight minutes."
Fun turns to terror
Owners of Salisbury Immediate Care and Injury Center, Kent and Cynthia never imagined that snorkeling equipment for ages 3 and up would prove life-threatening for their son.
"He was in 2 1/2 feet of water," Cynthia said. "They even practiced with their (snorkeling equipment) in the hotel pool before looking for fish in the ocean."
Kent theorized that Nicholas was unable to remove the snorkel tube because it was caught underneath his face mask, he said.
Snorkeling in pairs, Kent and Christopher, Anthony and Nicholas, drifted several feet apart.
Anthony, who left his partner to adjust his mask on the beach, assumed that his father and brother could see Nicholas from their location. However, Cynthia said the sun's reflection on the ocean at 5 p.m. cast a shadow on the surface.
"I thought I heard someone yell 'help' while I was underneath," said Kent, who struggled to pinpoint his son in the water.
Anthony eventually discovered his brother floating upside down about 4 feet away from his father, Cynthia said.
"It was really just one of those bizarre things," Kent added.
Meanwhile, Cynthia never put down her camera; her chronicle of vacation went from happy, tropical scenes to terrifying images of CPR, ambulances and her tiny son hooked up to tubes and monitors. She says she knew in her heart that Nick would make it, and wanted him to have a record of what he lived through.
Faith and the hospital
Staff from the Embassy Suites Dorado provided police escorts for the Rilling family during their rush hour ambulance trip to the pediatric intensive care unit at Centro Medico de Puerto Rico. Nicholas suffered from acute respiratory distress syndrome, a lung condition that leads to low oxygen levels in the blood.
He was unconscious and connected to a breathing tube. It was agony for the family waiting for Nicholas to wake up; his brothers and sister spent time in prayer.
Finally, on Oct. 20, Nick nodded 'yes' in response to a question from his mom about whether he wanted to watch SpongeBob. Although he couldn't open his eyes to see his favorite cartoon, the family was ecstatic that he was responding. Only three days after his near-drowning, Nicholas was awake, playing with toy trucks and having his breathing tube removed.

After just five days in the hospital, Nicholas was back in action, unscathed and ready to leave.
"Prayer and faith are the only two things we can attribute his health to now," Cynthia said. "He's absolutely perfect -- no brain damage, no pulmonary issues, no restrictions."
While he was still in the hospital, Nicholas told his parents that God had pulled him from the water; he cried about the memory and even described seeing God. He "is fine with it now," according to his mother.
The Embassy Suites Dorado threw Nicholas a party, which included a SpongeBob cake and Nicholas's chosen theme song, "Start of Something New" from Disney's "High School Musical." Attending were everyone from the 911 operator to the EMS crew to a beachgoer from Boston who had helped administer CPR. Then finally, the Rilling family returned to their Hebron home on Oct. 25.
"We just want to thank everyone for all of their prayers," Cynthia said on Monday, smiling at her son.
Multitasking, Nicholas flipped his Spiderman monster truck above the table, while chewing a handful of colorful Halloween candy in his mouth.
"Don't eat too much candy," Cynthia warned. "He's eating too much, isn't he?" she said, addressing her husband.
After tuning into his parents' conversation about their vacation, Nicholas hopped onto his father's lap before making an announcement -- "I drown-ded!"
A Puerto Rican native, Cynthia proceeded to ask her son about the types of fish he observed while snorkeling, prior to the accident.
"I saw a Dory," said Nicholas, referring to the Disney movie "Finding Nemo."
When Cynthia asked if he also spotted a Nemo in the ocean, Nicholas corrected her, "They're called clownfish, Mom."
Now sucking on a lollipop, Nicholas said he's not afraid of the water and he kept the snorkeling mask to prove it. He even made it into a terrifying Halloween decoration, adorning his jack-o'lantern.
"I punched (the ocean) -- I kicked the water," said Nicholas, who visited the beach one more time before the family left Puerto Rico. "Then I said, 'Good-bye.' "