Baby Rama’s ‘Wow Wednesday’

NUKOLI‘I — A gasp escaped the lips of an employee of the Kaua‘i Beach Resort, Wednesday while the group listened to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. read a Certificate of Recognition.

On Aug. 27, while on a routine patrol of the resort’s property, Kapena Cummings, a security supervisor at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort, stumbled on a horrifying scene.

Floating face down in the resort’s pool, a young boy was motionless in the water.

Cummings sprang into action, diving into the water to retrieve the infant.

“He was blue when Kapena got the baby to shore,” said Mahi‘ai Naihe, head of the Kaua‘i Beach Resort security. “He wasn’t breathing.”

Cummings, notifying hotel dispatch, applied cardio-pulmonary resuscitation efforts to the young boy who apparently had fallen into the pool.

“We didn’t know where he was,” said Merciful, the toddler’s mother, who also attended the recognition for Cummings’ feat. “We were helping at a health fair which was taking place at the hotel, and Baby Rama just ran off. We were looking for him when we ran into the commotion.”

Cummings said that while he was applying CPR to Baby Rama, the young boy took his first breath after nearly drowning.

“We were waiting for the first responders, and after he revived, we just had to keep him responsive until the emergency personnel arrived,” he said.

Cummings, who was off on Wednesday, modestly accepted the Certificate of Recognition for the heroic deed that saved the life of the two-year-old.

“This is Wow Wednesday,” said Robin Graf, the general manager of the Kaua‘i Beach Resort. “Normally, we do this once a month where we recognize our employees who do things beyond their normal levels of service. We’re all so proud of Kapena and his quick-thinking and response to an incident which could have become tragic.”

Baby Rama, the son of Ananda and Merciful, napped peacefully, snuggled in a backpack carrier on Ananda’s back.