Public Safety Officer Mary Lou Dill of Mississippi College Saves Child
Mary Lou Dill doesn’t consider herself a hero.
Instead, the Mississippi College public safety officer says the six-year-old boy she saved on a recent vacation in Florida is the real hero.
Headlined “MC Officer Saves Child,” the story by “Clarion-Ledger” reporter Sarah Fowler appeared in Saturday’s newspaper. On Monday, Dill continued to share the emotionally gripping life-changing experience with the media.
On his statewide SuperTalk Mississippi radio show host Paul Gallo noted the Dills decided at the last minute not to cancel their planned vacation to visit friends in the Sunshine State. And, he pointed out to thousands of morning listeners on June 15 “because of that, lives were changed.”
Dill was visiting her ill father in her native Canada, and booked the trip to Florida a few weeks ago, but forgot to cancel it.
It was a simple oversight that Mary Lou Dill says was guided by fate.
At one of the West Gate Resort pool areas in Orlando, Dill spotted a woman running with the lifeless body of a six-year-old boy. There was foam coming from his mouth, Dill told The Clarion-Ledger. “He was blue; it was just awful.”
A mother of three, Dill reacted quickly and administered CPR. In the middle of her third round of CPR, her husband, Clinton Police Lt. Christopher Dill, rushed to his wife’s side. And the two began administering CPR together. Mary Lou received her CPR certification a few months earlier.
“I never had time to think about it,” Mary Lou Dill told the state’s largest newspaper. “I just reacted.”
After the ambulance arrived, the veteran MC public safety officer walked away. The boy was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released. “He’s the little hero,” Dill told “The Clarion-Ledger,” in a phone interview. “It was definitely a life-changing experience, and I’ll be proud of his life for the rest of my life.”
The boy is a triplet and the Mississippi College officer asked that he not be identified.
Mary Lou Dill returned to work on the Clinton campus last Friday.
It’s been a busy time for Mary Lou since arriving back in the Magnolia State.
The mother of three juggled her job at 5,000-student Mississippi College with family responsibilities and a few media interviews. On Monday afternoon, the native of Newfoundland, Canada sat down to talk with a WAPT-16 reporter from the Jackson station. One MC staffer teared up as she listened to Mary Lou tell the dramatic story of what happened to the little boy in Florida.
Mary Lou Dill has stayed in touch with the young boy’s family members since his release from a Florida hospital.
It took the ambulance about six to eight minutes to arrive, she said. The Mississippi College public safety officer believes everybody should be CPR-trained.
MC Public Safety Assistant Director Brent Perkins praised Mary Lou’s swift action. “She rose to the
occasion when an emergency arose. She would do the same on campus. Mary Lou has always stepped up to the plate.’’
An MC public safety officer for seven years, Mary Lou Dill is presently a CPR instructor. “You never know when you might need it,’’ Perkins said. “It is a very valuable tool that may save lives.’’
Sign-up For Our Newsletter
Get the latest news about Mississippi College delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Along College Street e-newsletter.
