A man who saved a 4-year-old from drowning is now in the hospital for injuries connected with the rescue according to Gawker.
Michael Patterson is in the Redmond Regional Medical Center's Intensive Care Unit and is paralyzed from the waist down. Family and friends fear they will not be able to finance his medical bills. Vicki Jones, Patterson's mother, said her son has been on-and-off of life support.
Patterson, a carpenter, was reportedly at Euharless Creek with his 9-year-old son in Georgia when he heard a woman, Carlisa Jones, scream for help because her 4-year-old daughter appeared to be drowning. Without hesitation, Patterson dove into the water and went to her rescue. Jones claimed Patterson "dove too deep" and injured himself in the process.
"They don't know how he saved her," she said. "The little girl was at the bottom, but they saw something push her up. They got the little girl and they didn't realize what happened to Michael."
Jones is hoping to gain financial support from the public so that she can transfer Patterson to a "private nonprofit spinal cord rehabilitation hospital." A Facebook page documenting Patterson's story and a donation fund has been started for him. His career took a turn when he was laid off. He took a contracting position but was not provided medical insurance.
This is Patterson's second heroic act. According to The Rockmart Journal, the 43-year-old witnessed a two-car accident two weeks prior to his injury and aided in the safety of all involved. Patterson reportedly dragged victims out of their car in fear of an explosion and cooperated with police officers on scene.
