Brad Hassig, a chiropractor in Mountain Brook, Alabama, nearly lost his life on June 14 when he was submerged in the family pool. This father is a chiropractor and enjoys meditation. He has the habit of taking advantage of the family pool as a relaxing sanctuary to pray and think.

On that day, Hassig was in the pool with his 10-year-old twin sons Bridon and Christian, and neighbor Sam, 11. At the moment when his wife was at work, he was doing breathing exercises. He sat underwater in the shallow end of the pool and submerged himself.

During an interview with Good Morning America, Hassig recalled the event: “We were just swimming. The boys were having fun. I like to do just some calming, breathing exercises in the waters, which entails just sitting underwater. I was saying the Lord’s Prayer. And I just, I don’t ever remember finishing it.”

He fainted…

The children kept playing but noticed something was off with their dad. Christian spoke up first about his concern.

The Hassig Family Chiropractic explained the consequences in a post. Lori wrote: “Christian noticed that Brad was not sitting in his regular way whenever he does this exercise, and put on goggles to swim to him. Brad was blue and on his side. Bridon, Christian, and Sam pulled Brad to the pool steps.” Despite being significantly smaller than their father, the boys were able to haul him up to the pool’s steps.

However, Bridon remembers another person assisting them. He stated, “There is no way we should have been able to do that. “I just had a moment where Jesus was standing right behind us the whole time.”

Dad agreed and felt that the situation was fortunate. He said, “They weigh, what 80, 80-some pounds around there, and I weigh 185 pounds. So they shouldn’t have been able to physically do what they did. I mean everything just went as perfectly as it probably had to have.”

The boys had seen CPR in movies such as “The Sandlot” and “Hook,” yet none of them knew how to perform the life-saving technique. Bridon attempted to give Hassig mouth-to-mouth while Sam and Christian tried unsuccessfully to unlock his phone so that they could call for help. Instead, the two ran for assistance.

Lori’s post continued:

“Christian ran to find someone to call 911. He stopped a car driving by, and that person called 911. I do not know who it was, but I am forever grateful. Our neighbor saw all the trucks and ran over and pulled Brad out of the water. He found his pulse and stayed with him and with all the police and EMTs until I could get there.”

Luckily, their neighbor was a cardiologist and could assist the boys.

The first thing Hassig heard after he woke up was his sons begging him. He stated, “I hear the boys saying, you know, ‘Daddy, come back!’ and ‘Daddy, you have to be OK!’”

Mr. Hassig required a few days in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Hermann Northeast Texas Medical Center. He was able to return home to his family. He would not have survived without his sons, their neighbor Sam, and another neighbor who assisted if it weren’t for them.

The family has already set up a group course in CPR. Brad Hassig has discontinued his underwater meditation practice as well.