DALLAS – "Nick had flat lined for over at least 23 minutes"..Twenty minutes after being found face down in the family’s swimming pool, a 14-year-old special-needs teen had no pulse. But, Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics revived Nick Calabro using CPR that his dad started.

On April 14, Nick was bouncing a rubber ball outside his Lake Highlands' home when it splashed into the pool. Nick then went in after it, his family explained on its Internet page on the CaringBridge.com website.

“We found him floating face down in the pool,” his family wrote. “We immediately administered CPR and called EMS.”

Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics Kelly Kovar and Kent Mandernach were the first responders on Ambulance 17.

They responded within 3.5 minutes of the 911 call. But unlike similar calls, Kovar and Mandernach didn’t scoop up the patient and race to the hospital.

“When we arrived, we had a 14-year-old special needs child that dad was performing CPR on,” Kovar wrote to WFAA. “This child upon our arrival was ‘dead." [He had] n heart activity, no respirations, no signs of life. It looked very dim for this family.”

“They worked on Nick for 15 minutes with no vital signs before getting him in the ambulance,” wrote Michelle Calabro, Nick's mother. “We think he was in the pool for at least four to five minutes. So, the conservative estimate is that Nick had flat lined for over at least 23 minutes.”

Seconds later, as the paramedics slid Nick into the ambulance, Calabro asked if there were any signs of life in her son.

“Kelly sadly turned to Michelle, and shook his head no and said ‘I'm sorry ma'am,’” the website revealed.

Nick’s family said it had already prepared for the worst. Thinking there was no need to rush, they didn’t hurry to the hospital. Nick hadn’t survived, they thought.

The family said it expected to go to the hospital only to sign paperwork and arrange for a funeral. Nick’s parents even called relatives to tell them about the tragedy.

But, paramedics never gave up.

“Kelly told us that he continued to work on Nick during transport,” his family wrote. “He said they thought they started getting a heartbeat, but it was not certain because it was so faint, and the vibrations of the vehicle could have been interfering with the cardiac signal. Upon arrival at Presbyterian, unbeknownst to us, Nick's heart was barely beating."

“We took this child in our hands and tried our best to revive him,” Kovar recounted.

Raced into to the Presbyterian Hospital, Nick had not only regained a pulse, but also had a stable heart rate and good color. 

It took 11 days in ICU to help the teenager recover and eventually return home.

In appreciation, Nick and his family recently prepared 30 pounds of hickory-smoked, pulled-pork barbecue to feed the crew that resuscitated the teen.

“I must say, it was a bit intimidating serving BBQ to firemen who are well known for their cooking prowess,” Nick’s mother said.

Only later did the Calabros learn that this was Kovar’s first drowning response as a DFR paramedic. He couldn’t have asked for a better outcome, his parents said, and neither could they.