'Our miracle baby:' Bay Area family thanks neighbors who helped save 1-year-old from drowning

Family thanks neighbors for preventing drowning

A Wesley Chapel family is thanking neighbors and first responders for helping save a 19-month-old who nearly drowned.

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - A Wesley Chapel family who nearly lost their daughter to a drowning just weeks ago held a celebration Saturday to honor the people who saved her. The swift actions of 19-month-old Zoey Zanvardine's parents, neighbors, and first responders rescued her when she wandered into her family's pool and was underwater for nearly three minutes.

"We thought we did everything right. We never thought this would never happen to us and it did," Zoey's mom, Tamara, said.

In early August, the young girl wandered onto the family's patio, saw a ball in their pool, and fell in.

"Our gate unfortunately didn’t close appropriately," Tamara said. "It was rusting on the latch, and we didn’t know. In a matter of two minutes and 30 seconds, that’s when she was in the pool."

Dave, Zoey's dad, was the first to notice what happened.

"It only takes two, three minutes and it’s quiet. You’re not going to hear someone screaming, crying. Fortunately, we noticed her just in the knick of time," he said. "She was blue. White eyes. It was just a tragic, tragic experience. We thought that she was dead. She did not have a pulse at the time."

While Tamara called 911 and attempted CPR, Dave ran out to the street and yelled out for help.

"I ran to the front of the house just screaming for help, saw a neighbor and she called for her husband who’s retired military medic," he said.

Dave Lampman was that neighbor.

"When I came around the back and realized how young she was, I knew I had to do something," he said. "In combat, it was 20-year-old, 22-year-olds so a lot different experience."

First responders arrived shortly after.

"We kind of remember bits and pieces of it. She was airlifted to St. Joseph’s ER where she spent a night in the ER, a night in the ICU was discharged shortly after," Dave said.

By some miracle, Zoey made a full recovery.

"I feel like she’s kind of our miracle baby. We did IVF for our first baby and we were told we would struggle to conceive naturally and we did. So she’s kind of a fighter to begin with," Tamara said. "She’s energetic. She’s smart. She literally makes you laugh. She has the cutest laugh in the world. She’s loving, affectionate, loves cuddles."

On Saturday, the Zanvardine family hosted a party to thank everyone who helped.

"When we did realize Zoey was healthy, she was recovered, one of the first thoughts we had was we want to give back to our neighborhood," she said.

The family hopes to inspire other parents of young children to take precautionary measures if they own a pool.

"We now have a pool alarm," Dave said. "We keep the gate locked. I think it’s important for people to have at least two points of protection and know CPR because that saved her life and all of the hands that helped."

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