2-year-old pool victim back home
By Evan Carden Special to The Democrat

Officer Carey Slayton holds Cole Hicks this week.

The second of two children to survive a near-drowning at a local home day care facility has returned home after almost a month and a half in the hospital.

Cole Hicks, 2, the son of Tiffany and Robert Hicks of Jackson, was pulled from a pool at the day care, March 8, by Jackson Police Officer Carey Slayton, who immediately administered CPR to the child. A short time earlier, Alabama State Trooper Darrell Linder had ar- rived on the scene and rescued John Thomas Atchison from the pool.

Atchison, the son of Lori and Chip Atchison, who was not under water as long as Hicks, returned home about two weeks after the incident, but Hicks remained critical for sometime after that.

Following a 31-day stay at the University of South Alabama's Women and Children's Hospital in Mobile, Hicks was recommended for treatment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's (UAB) Children's Hospital and was placed under the care of Dr. Charles Law. "He has definitely made some improvements," said Tiffany Hicks. "Dr. Law never gave up hope. He said, 'Every child deserves a chance.'"

Both Robert and Tiffany say they have seen even more improvement since their son returned home Thursday, April 19. "He has some movement in his arms and keeps trying to lift his head," said Robert Hicks. "He is aware of his surroundings because he responds to sounds and his name."

The Hickses work with their son daily doing physical therapy to keep his arms and legs in shape. "We don't know how much he will improve, but we see small things almost daily," said Robert Hicks. "Even those small things give us hope."

Officer Slayton was at the couple's home Tuesday to visit with Cole. "I'm tickled to see him at home," he said.

The Hickses thanked Slayton for his efforts to save Cole's life.

"Words can't express the gratitude we have for Officer Slayton and all of the emergency response team who did an excellent job," said Robert Hicks. "We would like to say a special thanks to everyone in the community for all their love, prayers and support during our time of crisis. The doctors in Mobile gave Cole little hope for recovery, but they didn't know him. His will to live has been truly amazing."

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