article from the Virginian Pilot
Mary Ann McKenney (mmcke@MINDSPRING.COM)
Tue, 15 Dec 1998 22:50:04 -0500
Here is an article from The Virginian Pilot (www.pilotonline.com) - my
hometown paper. Enjoy!!
Mary Ann McKenney
Marietta, GA
Legally blind Boy Scout, 11,
saves 2-year-old who fell into pool
BY ALICE WARCHOL, The Virginian-Pilot
Copyright 1998, Landmark Communications Inc.
Brian Campbell, 11, rescued Nathaniel Johnson, 2, last week.
Photo by Ting-Li Wang
VIRGINIA BEACH -- Boy Scout Brian Campbell hasn't started working on his
lifesaving merit badge -- officially. But last week, the 11-year-old, who
is legally blind, jumped into a pool to save a toddler who had fallen in
while running away from his mother. Despite pleas to get away from the
water, the 2-year-old stepped onto the pool cover and fell in. Brian, who
could barely see the toddler's face, jumped into the 45-degree water and
swam to the boy.
``I just kind of followed the screaming,'' he said. ``He was screaming like
he had just hurt himself.'' Brian pushed the child out from under the pool
cover and took him out of the pool to his mother. The child's mother, Tara
Johnson, had watched helplessly from the deck, where she was holding her
5-month-old daughter. She had tried to hand the infant over to Brian so she
could rescue her son, but the Boy Scout had already jumped into the pool.
His mother was upstairs, watching the scene unfold in the back yard.
``I could see it. I could yell. But there was nothing I could do,'' Maeve
Campbell said. ``Brian just charged after him.'' In the past few days,
plenty of folks have been telling Brian what a great thing he did. At
Corporate Landing Middle School, he received a certificate for his
``unselfish act of bravery.''
``We've been telling him he's really good,'' Johnson said. ``He can't see,
so that made it even more special.'' Brian's parents say he has never let
his vision limit him. Like two of his brothers, he has congenital
cataracts. He is legally blind, but with glasses can watch TV from an angle
and read books that have enlarged type. His father credits Brian's Boy
Scout training for his quick response. The family doesn't know if his
lifesaving act will count toward his merit badge from Troop 414. ``I guess
he got a head start,'' his father said.
