Deputy helps family of boy he saved from drowning 6 years ago

INDUSTRY, Calif. -- A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who saved a little boy's life six years ago gave the child's family another surprise - a special gift just in time for the holidays.

Young Jacob Suarez and Deputy Ken Mort share a unique bond. Six years ago, Mort responded to a call on the 1000 block of Sandspring Drive in La Puente. Two-year-old Jacob had fallen into the family's pool.

"When I went to go help him, Jacob was very heavy, full of water purple and blue, and he wasn't breathing," said Stephanie Pardo, Jacob's mother.

Mort and a paramedic began CPR on the toddler.

"During this time, I could hear the other deputies kept telling him, 'Call time. Deputy, call time,' and he wouldn't give up. He wouldn't give up on him," Pardo said.

Knowing that little Jacob couldn't wait for an ambulance, Mort acted quickly.

"The paramedic picked up Jacob. He got in the backseat of my car, my radio car, and I drove him and Jacob to the hospital," Mort said.

Jacob sustained severe brain damage but was alive. For that, his mother is eternally grateful.

"I always call him on his birthday and let him know, 'Deputy Mort, Jacob turned 7,' or 'Jacob turned 8.' Thank you for everything you've done for Jacob and not giving up on him," Pardo said.

Mort said it means a lot to him that Jacob's mother calls him every year.

"It's kept this call ongoing," Mort said.

When Jacob's mom made another call to Mort on the boy's last birthday, Mort again did everything he could to help.

Mort, along with his station and the Association of Los Angeles Deputies, raised over $5,000 for Jacob to receive hyperbarics oxygen therapy. This treatment will hopefully repair damaged brain tissue and give Jacob more mobility.

"That day his accident happened, I feel like I didn't do my job as a mother protecting him. So all I can do is try to do the best that I can to help him get a little further in life," Pardo said.