Neisha Thurmon, 11, has all the innocence expected in a child. She is modest, soft-spoken and reserved. A few weeks ago, on June 7, she demonstrated a new quality when she turned into a hero.
Many twists of fate shaped this particular day.
Against the judgment of her mother, Terry Wallace, Thurmon ventured off to the public pool in Marquette Park in South City.
“I told her she wasn’t allowed to leave my house, but she left anyway,” Wallace said.
Once Thurmon arrived at the pool, there were issues with her registration. “They kept trying to send me home,” Thurmon said. “They kept saying I wasn’t registered to be there, until another official arrived to confirm I was registered to the pool.”
“God knows what He’s doing,” Wallace said. “I told her not to go, and there were issues with her registration, yet she still made it into the pool as if she was just supposed to be there that day.”
When finally allowed to swim, Thurmon was standing in the 5-foot section of the pool, barley touching the bottom. She felt something at the tip of her toes. At first, she thought it was a girl playing underwater, until she noticed no further movement.
“I looked down,” Thurmon said, “and I noticed she wasn’t moving at all. And I knew she wasn’t playing.”
She began to use her lower body to scoop the young girl from the water with her foot. She then grabbed her as she surfaced. When she checked for a pulse on the girl’s temple, she felt nothing. She yelled for help as foam rushed from the nose and mouth of six-year-old Dutchess Brand, who was unconscious.
Lifeguards then pulled Brand from the water and started CPR. Paramedics arrived promptly and began to shock her heart at the scene. They were able to recover a heartbeat, but she was taken to the hospital still unable to breathe on her own. Authorities are still unsure how long she was left underwater before Thurmon found her.
Thurmon’s biggest concern after the incident was Brand’s wellbeing as she recovered in the hospital. “Every hour, she would ask, ‘Is she okay? Is Dutchess okay?’” Wallace said.
Less than a week after the ordeal, Brand was able to leave the hospital after a full recovery.
Both girls were honored at the St. Louis Board of Alderman in City Hall on Friday, June 17, along with the paramedics, fire officials and park rangers who assisted that day.
“It is not often that the board recognizes everyday citizens,” said Alderman Cara Spencer, who introduced the resolution. “A resolution is the highest honor that the Board of Alderman can bestow, and every single alderman added their name to this resolution.”
Both families plan to keep the girls in touch, as they are connected forever now, though Thurmon said that her biggest wish for Brand is that she doesn’t remember what happened to her. She also doesn’t feel like a hero.
“I don’t like to think about it too much,” Thurmon said. “I’m just happy she’s okay.”
