A 36-year-old Papillion man was revived Monday after being pulled unconscious from a Papillion apartment complex pool shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Paramedics considered the man, identified by police as Refugio Peralta-Jardinez, in critical condition when he was taken by ambulance to Midlands Hospital.
A hospital spokeswoman declined to release his condition Monday evening. Papillion Police Lt. Chris Whitted said that hospital staff were able to stabilize Peralta-Jardinez's condition and that he was breathing on his own shortly after arriving at the hospital.
A Papillion woman helped save him from drowning. Brittany Peterson, a nurse's aide who had been swimming with friends at the pool, began to resuscitate Peralta-Jardinez after his friend pulled him from the bottom of the pool at Tara Heights Apartments.
Peralta-Jardinez had been swimming with friends, who were tending to children when he went under water and did not resurface, the lieutenant said. At first the friends thought he was just holding his breath, Whitted said.
He estimated that Peralta-Jardinez was under water at least one to two minutes.
Peterson said she saw the man's friend pulling him out of the pool and went to help. He was purple and had no pulse, Peterson said. She said she began resuscitation, and after about a minute and a half, he was coughing up water and breathing. She said that Peralta-Jardinez was conscious but struggling to breathe when rescuers arrived.
The apartments are located in the 800 block of Janes View, behind Tara Plaza at 84th Street and Hogan Drive in Papillion.
— Susan Szalewski
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