A Gaston County couple's 2-year-old daughter nearly died at a pool party.
For Matthew and Amy Shortridge, it's a day they'll never forget.
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"I heard Adalyn screaming out my youngest daughter's name," Matthew Shortridge said. "She just screamed, 'Mila!' I knew immediately what that blood-curdling scream meant."
He saw Mila floating in the pool and immediately jumped in to rescue her.
"I've never seen anything quite like it," he said. "I turned her over and in my hands, I held my 2 1/2-year-old baby's limp, lifeless, blue-gray body."
Matthew, a nurse anesthetist, started life-saving measures as soon as they were out of the pool.
"One of my friends who was a trauma code nurse at the hospital I work at, she came down and immediately together we started CPR," Shortridge said. "I just began to pray, 'God, please open up the lungs of my child, please let me get some air in her.'"
NBC News reported that Mila spent one night in a hospital and has made a full recovery.
The Gastonia Police Department shared their story with a heartfelt video on social media in an effort to emphasize the importance of water safety and knowing proper CPR procedures.
Nine out of 10 children between ages 1 and 14 who drowned were under supervision when they died.
"Our role now is going to be that as an adult myself or my husband is in the water with the children," Amy said.
With a new perspective, Matthew said his advice to everyone is to be up-to-date on CPR.
"If you're by a pool, you need to know how to give mouth-to-mouth," Matthew said.
Read the full story at wcnc.com.