After near-drowning, boy likes shallow end

The next time Chris Walker goes to the pool, he's staying out of the deep end.

Chris, 11, made the promise yesterday afternoon at the Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, where he was taken Monday night after being pulled unconscious from the bottom of a backyard pool in Huntington.

Chris was in high spirits Tuesday, flexing his arms and flashing peace signs to reporters and photographers. The soon-to-be fifth-grader, who said he wants to be a preacher when he grows up, was anxious to go home and play outdoors.

Dr. Mayer Sagy, attending physician in the pediatric intensive care unit, said Chris still has some water in his lungs but is able to get up and walk around the floor. He may be discharged Wednesday.

"This was a nice save and a big success," Sagy said. "All kudos go to the person that was able to extricate him from the pool."

Jalen Sair, 16, hoisted Chris out of the pool after others at a party started yelling that the boy was on the bottom. Sair's uncle, Patrick Sair, 51, of Melville, performed CPR.

Chris explained Tuesday that he was trying to hold on to the bars at the pool's edge, but was having trouble staying up in the deep water.

"From now on, I'll go in the small pool" and not the deep end, he said of his experience.

But it could be a while before he goes near any pool, according to his mother, Terrian Walker.

"I don't want him to get in the pool. He's going to want to swim, but no time soon," she said at the hospital. "He knows how to swim. He was just trying to be in the deep end with his friends."

Walker, of Huntington Station, was at nursing school Monday when Chris, one of her seven children, was rescued. At the hospital, she thanked Patrick Sair, who came to see Chris. Jalen Sair has not yet reunited with Chris but says he plans on seeing him Sunday at church.

Jalen said Monday night that he "was more scared and trying to help him [Chris] out than a hero."

Jalen, who was floating on an inflatable raft at the time, jumped into action when another partygoer, Tyler Marion, 14, screamed, "Get him!" while pointing at Chris.

After a short period of CPR by Patrick Sair, Chris began to take breaths in irregular spurts and then threw up water he had swallowed.

Chris' mother said the experience is "a lesson learned," and Chris has his own advice for kids this summer. "If you don't know how to swim," he said, "stay out of the pool."

Pool safety tips

Hempstead Town on Tuesday released pool safety brochures, which will be available at all town pools, Cablevision customer centers and King Kullen supermarkets. Among the tips:

SUPERVISE KIDS: Have adults keep watch whenever children are in the pool.

INSTALL POOL ALARM: Also keep rescue equipment by the pool at all times.

CONTROL ACCESS: Use physical barriers to restrict pool access. Secure and lock steps and ladders to above-ground pools, or remove them when not in use.

LEARN FIRST AID: Become certified in CPR and first aid.

-- MIKALA JAMISON