By Kimberly Hopson
L’Observateur

DESTREHAN – Nine-year-old Aidan Grundmeyer of Destrehan is pint-sized hero.
According to his father, Brad, the boy saved his younger brother from drowning in his in-law’s pool last year.
On Easter Sunday 2012, Brad and his family were attending a family get together at his wife’s family’s residence. He had gone inside to help his daughter McKenzie put on a Band-Aid. Unbeknownst to him at the time, his son, 3-year-old Kellan, had snuck around to the family’s fenced-in pool near the back of the house. Kellan, a notoriously curious child, reportedly tried to grab a toy fishing pole floating on the surface of the water and fell into the pool. The side that Kellan had fallen into was at least four feet deep.
“I was trying to get to the steps, but I couldn’t get there,” said Kellan.
Aidan, who was 8 at the time, had been playing basketball on the side of the house when he heard a splash in the nearby pool. The boy ran to the pool to see what caused the noise and saw Kellan flailing in the water.
“His nose was up, but I don’t think he could see. He was struggling to stay up,” said Aidan, who said he doesn’t really remember what was going through his head at the time.
Aidan said he walked down the pool steps into the water and swam to his brother. He then pulled his brother to safety without the aid of a tether or floation device.
Brad said little Kellan told his brother “You saved my ‘wife,’” in an emotional moment after the incident.
Even though he is technically a hero, Aidan hasn’t trumpeted about his acheivement in the community. The boy is actually quite bashful about the situation.
Aidan, however, has received several other recognitions, including the Christianity Award from St. Charles Borromeo School and the Inspirational Hero Award from Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne.
Aidan said he doesn’t plan on making his rescue skills into a career. The boy said he hopes to be a professional soccer and baseball player (and maybe a doctor) in the future. Aidan will receive the Cub Scout Heroism Award on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the United Methodist Church in Destrehan.