Months after her 10-year-old sister jumped into an apartment complex pool to save her, 4-year-old Kali Dallis continues to recover.
The incident, which occurred at The Savoy apartments, was caught on surveillance video on May 15, 2019 and saw Jayla Dallis leap into the water. She pulled her sister from the pool and the girls’ aunt and an apartment operations manager performed CPR.
» RELATED: Sister, Chamblee officer credited with saving girl from drowning in apartment pool
Chamblee Police Department Sgt. Ed Lyon arrived at the scene and also performed CPR, but Jayla remained in critical condition after the sergeant said he had “a definite pulse” in bodycam footage.
The girl went to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite and was hooked up to a ventilator for several days. At the time, she was expected to make a full recovery, but on an upcoming episode of "The Steve Wilkos Show," the Daily Mail reported the toddler's mother said Kali suffered a brain injury.
Daneshia Dallis said in the upcoming Feb. 24 episode that the “recovery process has been a lot” for her daughter, according to the Daily Mail.
“We have many therapy sessions but Kali is a fighter,” said Dallis, who remained by her youngest daughter’s side during Kali’s two-week hospitalization last year.
The mother, who appeared on the show with her two daughters, told host Steve Wilkos that Kali had “no breath for at least 10 minutes” after being submerged upside down with her flotation device around her waist for two minutes.
» RELATED: Girl who rescued drowning sister honored by county, her school
Dallis, who was at work when a family member arrived to inform her that she needed to leave, said she “couldn't stop crying” and “couldn't even drive.”
“Seeing her possibly not make it through the night and to the next day or the next week was very hard. I was very, very, very scared,” Dallis said. “I didn't know the extent of the damage until after a couple of days.”
On the show, Wilkos praised Kaili’s older sister, Jayla, and remarked, “I don't even know a lot of adults that would react as quickly as you.”
About the Author