JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville mother is calling her 2-year-old son a miracle after he survived a near-drowning in a pond on his family’s property — an ordeal she says unfolded in less than 10 minutes during what began as a normal day at home.
Katie Reddish said her son, Hoke, was playing in the den with his toy cars earlier this month, something he does every day. She said she had seen and heard him just minutes earlier.
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“He went down there and was just, you know, playing whatever,” Reddish explained. “I could hear him, I saw him, had eyes on him just a few minutes prior.”
Reddish said Hoke recently hit a growth spurt and, for the first time, managed to open a door at the end of the house. She said he had never tried to leave the home before.
“For whatever reason, I felt something was off,” she said.
Reddish sent her daughter to check the door. It stood wide open.
The family immediately began searching their property. Reddish said she initially thought Hoke might have followed the family dogs toward the road.
As she looked ahead, she heard her 9-year-old son scream from near the pond behind their home.
“His sisters have now joined him,” she described. “They’re running towards me, screaming, trying to get it out, like it’s almost hard for them to say that Hoke is in the pond.”
Reddish ran to the water and dove in. She said the pond typically has a large shallow area, but lower water levels caused a sudden drop-off. Hoke had floated into deeper water and was unconscious.
“He wasn’t even blinking,” she said. “There was nothing. It was very scary.”
Reddish pulled her son toward shore but struggled to lift him out. Her 11-year-old daughter grabbed Hoke’s arms and helped pull him onto land. Reddish immediately began CPR while her children called 911.
Reddish said she relied on CPR training she had years earlier, doing compressions and rescue breaths while water came out of her son’s mouth. Her brother-in-law soon took over compressions so she could speak with the dispatcher.
An off-duty officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office heard the call and responded, finding a pulse. Crews from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department arrived shortly after and took over care.
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Paramedics rushed Hoke to the hospital, where he began crying in the ambulance.
Doctors treated Hoke for hypothermia and placed him on oxygen. Tests later showed his lungs were clear, and a CT scan revealed no brain damage. Physicians confirmed he had survived a near-drowning, but said he showed no lasting effects.
Hoke spent two days at Wolfson Children’s Hospital before doctors discharged him.
“He’s 100% back to himself,” Reddish said. “He’s wild. He’s running around. He’s a complete miracle.”
Since the incident, the family has added heavy-duty deadbolts to all doors, installed door chimes, and built a fence across the pond. Hoke is also enrolled in swim lessons.
Reddish said the experience changed how she views safety at home.
“You can’t be too safe,” she said. “Fence the water. Lock the doors. Learn CPR.”
She said she now plans to stay current on CPR training and hopes to help expand access to CPR classes through her church.
“This all happened within 10 minutes,” Reddish said. “We could have lost him that fast.”