When her brother was drowning, tiny Meghan didn’t hesitate to dive in. Warren Gibbs reports.
Three-year-old Meghan Mandikos, who learned to swim before she could even walk, has been hailed as Australia’s youngest “lifesaver” after saving her big brother from drowning in their backyard pool in Brisbane.
The little water babe, weighing just 13kg, bravely put her own life on the line as she dragged Daniel, 6, to safety, even though his weight was pulling her under.
“She’s such a courageous little girl. Daniel can’t swim so he was like a sinking stone,” says proud mum Bridget Cullen-Mandikos, 39, who was sitting only metres from the pool with her husband Michael, also 39.
Meghan was at one end of the pool, older son Nicholas, 9, was at the other end, and Daniel, who is autistic and intellectually impaired, was standing on a large shallow step, Bridget explains.
“Daniel was enjoying himself, like he does every time he plays in the pool, but suddenly he lost his balance and slid into the deep end.
“He is usually very safety conscious and knows not to go off the step. He has this routine where he sticks his head in and out of the water, but on this occasion, I think he put his head in and got confused.
“Meghan yelled out ‘Daniel’, jumped off the side of the pool and swam towards him.
Read the full story in this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale March 15, 2010.
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