COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A 12-year-old Michigan boy trapped underwater for nearly eight minutes at a South Carolina resort is back home and attending school again.
The Pappas family shared their frightening story on NBC's "TODAY" show Monday.
https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/990928201324130305
Evan Pappas of Commerce Township was enjoying a “lazy river” with a friend and his parents when one of their goggles broke and a piece fell through a grate. The boys pried up the grate and Evan’s knee was sucked into a powerful filtration system, according to his family’s attorney.
Surveillance cameras were rolling as Evan’s friend screamed for help.
It took four people to free the boy, the family’s attorney said. Police performed CPR and Evan was flown to a hospital where he spent three days in a medically-induced coma and eight days on a ventilator.
Evan’s family says he is tired and not himself yet. They’re worried he may have potential brain damage.
"It's a miracle he's alive at all," his mother told NBC Detroit affiliate WDIV.
Evan’s family plans to sue Avista Resort in North Myrtle Beach for negligence, for not having corrosion-proof screws in the grate.
"This is a place for kids to play to do what kids do. I think we're taught don't let kids swim without a grownup, but what do you do when there are adults and there are other dangers, too?" Evan’s mother, Alyssa Pappas, told WDIV.