It’s incredible how, in an instant, everything can change. Twelve-year-old Noah Roche and his brother, 8-year-old Weston Woods, witnessed a moment like this first-hand in June. The two of them were enjoying a summer day by the pool at Pheasant Run apartments in Genesee County, Michigan. But things took a dangerous turn when another boy around their age began to sink.
That little boy, Griffin Emerson, is only 7 years old. At first, he stayed on the shallow end, splashing around in some floaties. The longer he was in the water, however, the more confident he grew. Eventually, he took off the floaties and started to venture closer to the deep end.
“I just wanted to prove myself,” Griffin later shared. “Like, yeah, I can actually swim and stuff.”
Griffin began to sink for almost a minute before anyone noticed and the first to do so were Noah and Weston. At first, Noah wasn’t sure what to make of what was happening.
“I saw him and I just knew that he wasn’t OK,” Noah said. “I saw him at the bottom of the pool and then I didn’t know if he was just playing down there or something. So I just told Weston to get in and dive down to see if he’s OK.”
Without hesitating, 8-year-old Weston did just that.
“His head was going up and down,” he recalled. “I knew he wasn’t OK.”
By the time Weston brought Griffin to the surface, the 7-year-old’s Mom, Sylese Roche, was made aware of the situation. As soon as Griffin was on land, she began to perform CPR as he was blue and not longer breathing.
Thankfully, little Griffin began to breathe and was taken to a local hospital where he was released 36 hours later, fully recovered.
“I was scared I was gonna drown,” Griffin recalled. “It felt all weird. I spit out some water and that’s it.”
Thankfully, the speed of Noah and Weston’s rescue, and the CPR performed by his Mom, truly did save his life.
“By getting him to breathe on his own that fast, that’s the best possible outcome,” Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson of Genesee County, Michigan. “And that’s why we celebrate the story.”
When Griffin’s grandfather, Tom Kinczkowski, heard what happened, he worked together with first responders in order to properly thank the two brothers for what they did. That’s why, on June 29, the boys were celebrated at Bush Park.
More than a dozen first responders showed up, and all three of the kids were given gift bags with books, gift cards, and more. Plus, they each received a sheriff’s badge!
“Weston and Noah, you know, they hold a special place in my heart,” Tom said. “And they basically saved Griffin. A lot of my heroes don’t wear capes. And they are two of them.”
As for Noah and Weston, they say that choosing to save Griffin was only natural.
“It was the right thing to do,” Noah said. “I didn’t want someone to die.”