A nine-year-old Calgarian boy remains in a medically induced coma after nearly drowning in the Shuswap River during an August long weekend family vacation.

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Paul-Angelo Warren, 9, was swimming with family members at W.J. Tuey Regional Park in Enderby, B.C. on Aug. 3 when he was pulled underwater by the current and pinned against fallen deadwood. According to a press release from the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP, Paul-Angelo was submerged for roughly five to 10 minutes.

Matthew Warren, the boy’s father, said they was in Enderby visiting family during a spur-of-the-moment three-day vacation from Calgary. He wasn’t at the beach when his son went missing, but said the boy’s mother and family members saw beachgoers on the opposite side of the river encouraging Paul-Angelo to cross the river.

The boy’s mother tried to coax him back to the beach, but couldn’t get Paul-Angelo to listen.

“He did look back at my wife, Maria, (then) she saw him go under and saw his hands waving,” Warren said. “My wife was screaming at the top of her lungs, and then all of a sudden pretty much half the beach ran in to go look for him.”

Warren explained that Paul-Angelo wasn’t wearing a flotation device because they had no concerns anything would happen. The water appeared to be only waist-deep and Paul-Angelo knew how to swim thanks to his experience in Calgary’s rivers.

When Warren arrived at the beach, less than 30 minutes after dropping off his family, he saw his cousin pulling his son out of the water and beginning to perform CPR.

“That’s when the best miracle in the world happened to us— there was doctors and nurses already there,” Warren said.

Several healthcare professionals happened to be spending their day-off at the beach when the incident occurred. Warren said they immediately stepped in and administered care until paramedics arrived, with one nurse doing chest compressions while another gave mouth-to-mouth CPR.

“They were a blessing in disguise, and I’m very happy that they were there to help us,” Warren said. “There’s nothing in this world I could do to repay them.”

While Paul-Angelo was transported to the hospital in critical condition, Warren said his son has shown encouraging signs in the days since the incident, although he remains under sedation because of the damage to his lungs.

“All his organs are looking good on him,” Warren said. “Heart, kidneys, everything else is looking good on him.”

Doctors have also conducted a brain-function test that Warren said came back positive, but Paul-Angelo continues to have fluid in his lungs, requiring two chest tubes to help him breath and drain the fluid. 

The family has been at the hospital throughout the week, with Paul-Angelo’s mother and older brother spending most of their time at his bedside. Warren said his son has intermittently woken from the medically induced coma, particularly when medical staff suction his lungs or when he hears his dad’s voice. 

“He’s a fighter,” Warren said. “So he keeps fighting that coma and keeps waking up.”

For Warren, one of the most difficult parts of the ordeal has been knowing that some people at the beach filmed the incident rather than helping.

“The people on the other side, they were waving their hands, basically copying what Angie was doing and laughing and giggling thinking it was a joke. And meanwhile there was two other people taking videos,” he said. “The hardest thing in the world to see is go on TikTok and see your own son drowning.”

While the family is still grappling with the trauma of nearly losing a child, they are also hoping their experience educates other parents.  Warren said families should research water conditions before visiting an unfamiliar area and bring flotation devices no matter the circumstances 

“Watch what you’re doing, watch where you’re going,” he said. “Make sure that it’s going to be safe. If you’re not sure, take those extra precautions.” 

The family is also encouraging people to donate to local hospitals to support professionals like the ones who saved Paul-Angelo. They’ve also started a GoFundMe to help with the costs incurred over the past week, though Warren said they’re currently focused on getting Paul-Angelo healthy again.

“We’re very happy our child is still with is,” he said.