Touched by an angel?

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BARK RIVER - Richard Campbell, Bark River, never thought he'd have to use his CPR training to save a small child's life, let alone the life of his two-year-old niece Alison.

Campbell's actions are being credited with saving the child's life after she fell into a swimming pool.

Alison's mother, Melissa Kleiman of Wilson, Melissa's sister, Melanie (and Campbell's wife), and the two sisters' mother, Sharon Mills, had all gotten together at Mills' home in Bark River Saturday for a birthday party for Melanie's son.

Everyone was enjoying the weather and the kids had been taking turns swimming in the backyard pool.

Mills said she had been sitting with Alison, treating her to some leftover candy from the party while the rest of the family cleaned up. It was only for a moment that Sharon turned her back, thinking Alison was behind her, when she wandered off and into the pool.

What followed was a sequence of surreal events for Alison's family.

"I just remember, someone saying the gate was left open, and Alison wasn't around," said her mother Melissa. "I looked in the pool, and by then Ali was actually floating. I got her out and she was completely purple. I was screaming 'I can't lose my baby, I can't lose my baby.' "

"We hadn't heard anything," said Sharon. "Not even a splash."

Thankfully a "guardian angel" - as the family now considers Richard Campbell - was there. Campbell has been trained and certified in CPR every year for the past 12 years, as an employee at Bridgewood Group Home.

"I said, "Give her to Richard,' " said Melanie. "Then it was just him and Ali. Richard completely took control."

Campbell didn't hesitate for a moment, giving Alison chest compressions while family members called for help. He was able to revive Alison before Delta County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Lewis arrived at the scene. Lewis had been in Bark River when he received the call at around 8:42 p.m.

"He was just relieved that the girl was alive when he got there," said Sheriff Gary Ballweg of Lewis.

Shortly after Lewis arrived, Hannahville Tribal Police arrived, followed by the Bark River First Responders, and Rampart EMS, who took Alison and Melissa to OSF St. Francis Hospital. Alison was given chest X-rays and kept overnight for precautionary care.

Alison's tests came back normal, and she is "110 percent," said Melissa.

Despite the relief of Alison's good health, the incident has, no doubt, been traumatizing for the family.

"We're all having a hard time with what happened," said Mills.

With nine grandchildren all under the age of nine, Mills had taken all the necessary precautions when it came to the swimming pool, which was five feet at its deepest point. A fence had been built around the pool, the fence's gate was padlocked, and there were proper rules in place.

"The rule in the house is whoever comes out of the pool last, needs to close the gate and lock it," said Mills. "Over time, I think we just got a little lax."

"We started to take it for granted," added Melissa.

With the business of the party clean-up, and so many kids to look after, it took time before anyone noticed the gate to the pool had been left open from when the last swimmers got out.

Alison's family now sees the incident as a wake-up call for themselves, as well as a chance to warn others.

"I think everyone with a pool should be trained in CPR," said Melissa. "It's just the most valuable training.

"We're just very, very thankful to Richard," added Sharon.

It was Campbell's training which helped him perform during an extremely stressful moment and save Alison's life - a heroic deed, for which he remains humble. "Nothing was going through my mind at the time," he said of the incident. "Just my training, and the counting. I'm just so glad I was here to do it."