Menomonee Falls lifeguard honored with Red Cross award after rescuing 5-year-old from pool

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A little girl might not be alive today if not for the quick response of a teenage lifeguard. 

His name is Ryan Schraufnagel, and he was recognized by the American Red Cross Wednesday, Dec. 17, with a Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders. 

Schraufnagel was 19 years old and working at the YMCA in Menomonee Falls this past July when he saw 5-year-old Gianna McKee in the pool, fighting to keep her head above water.

He dove in and pulled her out. Then, when he noticed she had no pulse, he told bystanders to call for help and immediately started breathing and chest compressions.  

Gianna regained consciousness, spit out water, was taken to a hospital and has made a complete recovery. 

"My mind went completely blank, and because they really drill in all the training, I'm like, first you do this, then you do this, then you do this, and they make you do it like multiple times in a row," Schraufnagel said. "So that repetition and training really just allowed me to just do it, without, like, overly thinking."

Ryan Schraufnagel says it was only after he revived Gianna that he was able to grasp the emotional weight of what happened.