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Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue recently honored Lissette Medina for quick actions that saved her 8-year-old neighbor’s life.
Last summer, Medina, a physician assistant who is a 2006 alumna and a faculty member in the Physician Assistant Program at FIU's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, had just arrived home with her two daughters when a neighbor urgently asked for help. While another neighbor stayed to watch Medina’s children, she rushed towards the sound of frantic cries.
“I saw a little boy unresponsive on the side of the pool, his mother on the phone with 911,” said Medina. “I said, ‘I’m a physician assistant. I know CPR.’ Something came over me that told me to stop thinking and just do.”
Medina performed CPR for seven-and-a-half minutes until rescue crews arrived. She then helped first responders with suction and intubation as they took over care. The child, Dylan Smith, spent nearly two months recovering at Holtz Children’s Hospital, the same hospital where Medina works. She visited Dylan and his family frequently to check on his progress. “From our understanding, this was a really rare case—typically, they don’t make it,” she said.
Dylan’s mom, Tiffany Smith, told a local news station that the youngster and his sister were taking turns to see who could hold their breath the longest. “Dylan, being the resilient Dylan he is, pushed it too far and suffered from shallow-water blackout,” she explained.
Shallow-water blackout, also known as hypoxic blackout, is a temporary loss of consciousness caused by lack of oxygen to the brain. It can be deadly and can happen to anyone, even strong or experienced swimmers, in any depth of water. The condition typically occurs when a person holds their breath for an extended period or hyperventilates- takes a lot of deep, fast breaths- before diving underwater.
Today, Dylan has made a full recovery, and the two families have grown close. “He’s at my house a lot, playing with my daughters,” said Medina. “To see him healthy and full of life—it’s a miracle. I wish we could have met under different circumstances, but I’m so grateful to have been part of this story.”
Medina described the experience as both terrifying and transformative. “I was super scared, my hands were shaking, and I thought I wasn’t the person for this,” she said. “But I stopped thinking and just did what I had to do—what I was trained to do.”
The incident reaffirmed her pride in the physician assistant profession. “This reminded me—and I hope others too—that PAs play a critical role in patient care.”
Medina praised the first responders, doctors, and staff who contributed to Dylan’s recovery and urged others in the community to learn CPR so they can respond in case of an emergency.
Medina, in glasses, with Dylan and his parents at Holtz Children’s Hospital