Woman who saved 3-year-old to receive commendation from Board of Supervisors
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Lakeport woman credits faith, training and focus with helping her to save the life of a 3-year-old boy found unresponsive in the pool at a local resort over Labor Day weekend.
Lydia Meraz, a 20-year employee of WorldMark Clear Lake Resort in Nice, resuscitated 3-year-old Darius Apar after the child was pulled from the swimming pool by his mother.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday Meraz will receive a commendation from the Lake County Board of Supervisors in recognition of her heroic actions.
The story has a happy ending, but as resort General Manager Greg Bennett pointed out, “It was very, very close.”
Bennett said there were moments when they didn’t think the child was going to make it. “It was quite a battle to get him to breathe again.”
Meraz, who serves as the resort’s guest services manager, was in her office taking care of invoicing and some other duties on Sunday, Sept. 6, when she said she heard a woman screaming for help.
Getting up from her desk, Meraz told her team members to call 911 while she set out to find out what was happening.
She said she didn’t know if someone was having a seizure or heart attack, or being stabbed. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”
Meraz, along with team members Diana Starkey and Ali Staub, arrived at the pool to find a hysterical Adelia Apar, who told her that her son Darius wasn’t breathing.
Adelia Apar had been swimming laps when she turned around and found the child face down in the pool, Meraz said.
When Meraz arrived, the child was lying next to the pool. He was unconscious and blue. “I’ve never been exposed to anything like that.”
Meraz told everyone to stand back and then got down on her knees next to the child. She said she prayed, asking Jesus to help her save the boy’s life.
At that point, Meraz said it was like she was in a bubble. “It got really quiet around me.”
She began cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Darius. At the second round of compressions, Meraz said she saw him starting to come back. On the third set of compressions, she prayed that he would pull through, and he started to cough.
Meraz quickly turned him over onto his side, he began throwing up water, opened his eyes and started to cry.
“I told him, ‘you’re going to be just fine,’” and then Meraz said she started to cry, too.
The child’s family immediately came to her side, calling her their guardian angel.
Bringing the child back “was an amazing feeling,” and it means a lot to her, Meraz said.
The rest of the WorldMark team set up roadblocks and guided the ambulance and first responders to the scene. Bennett said both Adelia Apar and her son were taken to the hospital for treatment.
The next day, the Apar family came back to see Meraz, bringing her flowers, and there were more hugs and tears. She said Darius gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Meraz said the Apars have told her she’s now an extended member of their family. Adelia Apar has even sent her Darius’ preschool picture.
Bennett said the day after the incident, Darius was back swimming, now with a brand new life jacket, and the whole family was able to have a good time. “That’s all you can ask for,” he said.
In a high-stress situation, how did Meraz remain calm?
Both Bennett and Meraz said the resort puts a strong emphasis on training for its staff. Bennett said CPR training is required for guest services, housekeeping, maintenance and management. “It paid off in this particular case, that’s for sure,” he said.
Meraz gave special credit to her trainer, Kimberly Miinch of Emergency Care Training and Supply in Middletown, for helping prepare her.
She said she remembered having told Miinch that she wasn’t sure she would be able to act to save someone if necessary. Meraz said Miinch reassured her that she could do it when the time came.
The day after she saved Darius, Meraz said Miinch called her. Miinch had heard scanner traffic about the incident and called to check in.
Meraz said she told Miinch that her training had made all of the difference.
Also important for Meraz is her faith in God, which she said was another key to saving the little boy.
“I give it all to the Lord,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.