DALLAS -- Todd Dickerson might not look it, but he is one lucky guy.
The married father of two could have been paralyzed or lost his life after diving into his own backyard pool. He fractured the C6 vertebra in his neck.
"[My physical therapist] said if it had been C1 or C2, I wouldn't be here," said Dickerson Friday, as he sat by the pool in his backyard wearing a neck brace.
"This isn't very comfortable, but I'll take it over what could have happened," he said.
On the Friday before Memorial Day this year, he was spending the day with his 8-year-old son, Jason. They went to Dave & Busters, and when they got home, they decided to jump in the pool.
The family has lived in the house for six years, but Todd had never gotten in the water due to a series of foot injuries.
"I didn't even really think about it," Todd said. "I just thought the end far away from the stairs was going to be deep enough for a dive, and that was poorly judged."
Their pool is five-feet deep in the middle, and it slopes up on either end. After he attempted a shallow dive, he hit his head badly and was bleeding.
"All I can really remember is seeing the water at the top and wanting to get my mouth there," he said.
He now knows that his son saved his life. Jason went to the bottom of the pool and pulled his father up to the surface. The boy then ran to the front yard to find his mother, who called 911 and rushed to the pool to stabilize her husband in the water.
"I knew not to move his neck," said Jennifer Dickerson, Todd's wife. "He was able to move his arms and legs, and we were talking and praying."
Experts say they did the right thing.
If you suspect a neck injury in a pool, don't remove the victim from the water. Make sure they're breathing and call paramedics.
Pool safety experts say the best advice if you're getting in the water is to always go in feet-first.
Thankfully, Todd's doctors expect him to make a full recovery after a few more weeks in the neck brace.
The Dickersons have now put up 'No Diving' signs around the pool, and Todd wants others to learn from his mistake.
"Just make sure other people are around you, and know the depth, and be very careful," he said.
