PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Two 2-year-old girls are still in the hospital following a near drowning Tuesday afternoon.
Both were taken to the St. Lucie Medical Center, then transferred to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center according to police.
Both were breathing by the time rescue crews arrived. One was still unconscious. The other was awake and breathing, but being kept at the hospital to be observed for risks of dry drowning.
Port St. Lucie police say the girls, who are cousins, were at their grandfather’s home along Jason Place in Port St. Lucie.
The grandfather, Winston Mears, says he doesn’t usually watch the children alone. His wife and daughter left the house briefly to run errands.
Mears says he gave the girls juice boxes, and thought they went into another room in the house.
After a few minutes, he says the home felt too quiet.
“It was like God talking to me. He said check on the kids. I looked inside the room, and I didn't see them,” Mears said.
He looked out his back door and saw both girls face-down in the swimming pool.
“The door locks, but the tallest one knows how to pull the door,” Mears said.
He says he frantically grabbed both girls from the water and began trying to resuscitate them.
“I said wake up baby. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ…. one started to cry and the other had no response. I felt like I could die too,” Mears said.
He nervously waited for updates from his wife at the hospital.
“The only thing running through my mind right now is to see them come back home,” Mears said.
Police said the majority of child drownings happen when adults are home.
Police do not expect foul play but did talk to Mears about child-proofing his home.
That can include adding deadbolt locks to doors, or pins in sliding doors that children can’t reach.
Police also recommend putting some kind of fence or barrier around a pool or using a pool alarm.
“I will watch them again, but I know next time they can’t come out of my sight for a second,” Mears said.