Father saved with CPR after going into cardiac arrest while water skiing in Cleves

A family is counting their blessings after their father went into cardiac arrest while water skiing in Cleves.

This all happened in an instant. His own daughter and her friends jumped into action.

At 55 years old, Andrew Nelson is full of adventure.

"He is one of the most active people I know in my life," Andrew's daughter, Mary Nelson, said.

He's the happiest when water skiing.

Andrew was doing this on Friday, June 21, with Mary and her two friends, Rhett and Braylen.

"It was just a regular weekend. We go skiing almost every weekend," Mary Nelson said.

Andrew was water skiing when he tossed the rope and suddenly collapsed.

Mary says they noticed he collapsed quickly.

"He kind of laid face down, and that’s when my friend Rhett dove off the boat, and I went onto the platform, and he pulled my dad with my help, and we pulled him onto the platform, and I saw he was unconscious," Mary Nelson said.

They checked for signs of life. He had no pulse, and he wasn't breathing.

"I yelled to my other friend Braylen and said call 911, and we immediately just started doing CPR," Mary Nelson said.

Andrew was rushed to Mercy West Hospital. Doctors say he went into cardiac arrest and was put on life support. His family says Andrew has atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, but doctors are trying to figure out what actually caused this specific episode.

"Nurses would come in, and they just kind of said if it wasn't for the immediate CPR and help of my friends and the ambulance, he wouldn't be here right now," Mary Nelson said.

He started making progress and was taken off life support. He's paralyzed from the waist down.

His daughter-in-law, Gabriella Nelson, is just grateful he's alive. She's pregnant with his first grandchild.

"Because we wanted him so bad to meet his first grandchild, so we are really thankful that he will get the opportunity to watch him grow up," Gabriella Nelson said.

It's a reminder that knowing CPR can save a life, especially when it's someone you love.

"I think everyone should learn because it's not hard to learn, and in an instant, I never thought in a million years I would have to do something like that," Mary Nelson said.

Andrew will be heading to rehab after his stay in the hospital, and then his family will have to make their home more accessible. There is a fundraiser to help them with the upcoming medical expenses.