Coast Guard Rear Adm. David Throop, presents the Meritorious Service Medal to Darci Dawson at the Coast Guard Base Seattle Museum on July 7, 2017. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ali Flockerzi.
SEATTLE – Coast Guard Rear Adm. David Throop presented Mrs. Darci Dawson with the Meritorious Public Service Award at a ceremony held at the Coast Guard Base Seattle Museum, at 10 a.m., Friday.
Dawson was recognized for her selfless actions after she saved the life of a drowning toddler, Kaden Sluggett, on July 9, 2016.
While vacationing with family in Montana last summer, Dawson was swimming in Warm Spring Creek and discovered the submerged floating body of Sluggett floating past her.
Using her former training as a lifeguard and her knowledge of CPR, Dawson retrieved the toddler’s lifeless body from the water and resuscitated him with 15 minutes of CPR while transiting to meet an ambulance on a remote stretch of highway.
Sluggett was in the water for six to 10 minutes, floated downstream over a half mile, then regained a pulse and breathing on his own after Dawson administered CPR. His full recovery was considered a medical miracle and he left the hospital two days later.
A Snoqualmie resident, Dawson is a former schoolteacher and a stay-at-home mom.
