A 4-year-old boy is recovering after he was pulled from the Li River in Guilin Province by a triathlete and trained swimming teacher on holiday with his family. The boy was given CPR at the scene and transported to hospital where he was expected to make a full recovery.
一名4岁男孩在与家人度假时被一名铁人三项运动员和训练有素的游泳老师从桂林漓江救起，目前正在康复中。男孩在现场接受了心肺复苏术，并被送往医院，预计将完全康复。
On Saturday 24 July, Thomas Hitchings, Director of Sport and Assistant Head Teacher at The British International School Shanghai, was checking out of his hotel, ready to depart for the airport. Then someone burst into the lobby and screamed that a child was drowning in the nearby river.
7 月 24 日星期六，上海英国国际学校体育总监兼助理校长托马斯·希钦斯 (Thomas Hitchings) 从酒店办理退房手续，准备前往机场。然后有人冲进大厅，尖叫着说有一个孩子在附近的河里淹死了。
“I went into autopilot and knew I could help”, said Hitchings, who sprinted to the scene, made a quick assessment of the water’s safety before entering, and swam to the boy who was face down about 40 metres from shore.
“我进入了自动驾驶状态，知道我可以提供帮助”，希钦斯说，他冲到了现场，在进入之前快速评估了水域的安全性，然后游到距离海岸约 40 米处脸朝下的男孩身边。
“When I reached him, he wasn’t moving and his face and limbs were blue. My lifesaving training kicked in and I checked for a pulse whilst trying to wake him. Thankfully, he had a weak pulse, but I needed to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to restart his breathing. This worked quickly and he regained consciousness after a fountain of water came out of his mouth.”
“当我到达他身边时，他一动不动，脸和四肢呈蓝色。我的救生训练开始了，我一边检查脉搏，一边试图叫醒他。值得庆幸的是，他的脉搏微弱，但我需要进行口对口人工呼吸以重新开始他的呼吸。这很快就见效了，当一股水从他嘴里喷出来后，他恢复了知觉。”
When conscious, the disoriented boy began struggling against his rescuer, a common reaction known as instinctive drowning response.
当意识清醒时，迷失方向的男孩开始与救援者挣扎，这种常见反应被称为本能溺水反应。
“The boy was very distressed and it took a lot of energy to keep us both afloat, while his fight response relaxed. This is a normal reaction and totally understandable, given the last thing he will remember was drowning. This is what makes water rescues so dangerous and why we are taught to only enter the water as a last resort.”
“男孩非常痛苦，花了很多精力才让我们俩都浮在水面上，而他的战斗反应却很放松。这是正常反应，完全可以理解，因为他记得的最后一件事就是溺水。这就是水上救援如此危险的原因，也是为什么我们被教导只有在万不得已的情况下才能进入水中。”
As Hitchings swam closer to shore, he was able to reach a floatation device brought out by hotel staff members and other tourists.
当希钦斯游近海岸时，他能够到达酒店工作人员和其他游客带来的漂浮装置。
“By the time I reached the rescue buoy, my body was completely exhausted. Performing CPR while treading water and then trying to hold on to the boy while he’s struggling to get away used up all my energy.”
“当我到达救援浮标时，我的身体已经完全疲惫不堪。一边踩水一边进行心肺复苏，然后在男孩挣扎着逃跑时试图抓住他，用尽了我所有的精力。”
When on shore, the boy was given additional aid to remove water from his lungs and stomach. A driver from the hotel then rushed him and his mother to the local hospital.
上岸后，男孩获得了额外的帮助以排出肺部和胃中的水分。酒店的一名司机随后将他和他的母亲送往当地医院。
Hitchings was thrilled that the boy was expected to make a full recovery and hopes this experience inspires parents to encourage swimming lessons for their children at an early age.
希钦斯对男孩有望完全康复感到非常兴奋，并希望这一经历能激励父母鼓励孩子从小就参加游泳课程。
“At the international school where I work, we give weekly swimming lessons to children as young as 2-years old. Not only is it a great way to stay in shape and have fun in a safe environment, learning to swim could someday save a life… including your own.”
“在我工作的国际学校，我们每周为 2 岁的孩子提供游泳课程。这不仅是保持体形并在安全的环境中享受乐趣的好方法，而且学习游泳有一天可以挽救生命……包括您自己的生命。”
