5-year-old nearly died at athletic club in New Berlin; nurse saved his life: "A ginormous thank you!"

NEW BERLIN -- A five-year-old boy nearly died at a New Berlin athletic club -- but an off-duty nurse jumped into action and saved his life!

This story has a happy ending because of a nurse who was in the right place at the right time.

Leo Klingler

When FOX6 News caught up with five-year-old Leo Klingler on Tuesday, February 14th, he was wearing the green mask of The Hulk. But on Sunday, February 12th, his face was a different color -- no mask required.

"I fell in the water. A nurse help me up," Klingler said.

Martha Fuerbringer

"He was just blue. Just completely blue. I was like, 'oh my God. He`s dead,'" Martha Fuerbringer, Leo's mother said.

Fuerbringer said her family was at the Princeton Club in New Berlin for a swim on Sunday.

"They have a water playground. They had just turned it on," Fuerbringer said.

Fuerbringer said she lost sight of the boy in the crowd, and he ended up face down at the bottom of the pool. Stacey Sparacino just happened to be walking by. She spotted the boy and jumped in to help.

"I`ll tell you,  as a nurse, my heart is always in it. He...his lips were blue. He wasn`t breathing. He had no pulse. Wasn`t responding," Sparacino said.

Stacey Sparacino

Sparacino is a cardiac nurse at St. Francis Hospital.

"I did compressions and breathing. I continued doing cycles of that," Sparacino said.

Another nurse came to help, as Sparacino got Leo breathing again.

"I don`t know how to thank them. Like, a ginormous thank you," Leo Klingler said.

His mom said she has questions about why Princeton staff didn't take action before strangers.

Leo Klingler

"If there would have been a lifeguard at that stand, maybe they would have seen him fall in," Fuerbringer said.

But she has many more years with her son, thanks to some off-duty nurses who saved a life far from any hospital.

"Oh my gosh. I can`t put into words how grateful I am. She`s my angel," Fuerbringer said.

Leo Klingler

FOX6 News reached out to the Princeton Club for comment. They responded with this statement:

"We are grateful for the members, staff and paramedics who helped in this rescue. They are all heroes."

Leo Klingler ended up staying at the hospital overnight for observation, but he's doing just fine.