>> IN YOUR TIME OF NEED, WE ALL HOPE SOMEONE WILL BE THERE FOR US. GULF COAST NEWS REPORTER BRITT LEONI INTRODUCES US TO SOMEONE WHO ANSWERED THAT CALL WITHOUT ANY HESITATION. IN TONIGHT'S STORY TO SHARE. AND I WAS SITTING AT THIS TABLE. >> AND I WAS FEELING 4 HAVING STROKE SURVIVOR. AND A LOT OF MEDS AND I'M I'M DOING REALLY, REALLY WELL, BUT NOT 100%. WHAT STEVE STICKNEY A IMAGINED WOULD BE A RELAXING SWIM IN THE POOL. SOMETHING CAN. JUMP IN THE POOL AND COOL DOWN AND CLEAR. MY HEAD A LITTLE BIT TURNED INTO WHAT HIS WIFE DOROTHY WITNESSED AS THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE. HE WAS FACE DOWN. >> AND HE VERY, VERY HEAVY. AND I I COULDN'T LIFT HIS HEAD UP. WHEN I REALIZED THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT AWAY, I STARTED SCREAMING. BUT FOR HELP. >> DOROTHY'S CRIES FOR HELP. DIDN'T GO UNHEARD. I SEE MY MOM. SHE'S LIKE PEEKING KNOW WHICH THE OTHER SIDE LOOK AT THE NEIGHBORS. AND ON JUSTIN'S. I KNOW IN MY MIND THAT IT'S SOMETHING WRONG. >> NEXT DOOR, NEIGHBORS, MAURICE AND ZACHARY WILSON KNEW THEY HAD TO HELP. I JUST RAIN OVER HERE. >> AND I JUST SEEN. >> CURTIS IN THE WATER, HOLDER HAS BEEN UP IN JUST LIKE JUST CRYING. >> I WAS JUST KIND OF SHOCKED BECAUSE I WASN'T EXPECTING NOW. SO I GET IN THE POOL AND I HOLD HIM STATING TO KEEP FROM NOT FLOATING ON AND THEN MY BROTHER. HE COMES IN HE ALSO HOLDS HIM UP KEEPING STEADY. >> NOT ONLY DID MURRAY SAYS SELFLESS ACT SAVED STEVE'S LIFE WHEN EMS ARRIVED. WHEN I SAW THEM. >> DOING THE CPR IN LIKE? INSPIRED ME. >> THAT INSPIRATION WAS MUTUAL. THE NORTH COLLIER FIRE AND RESCUE DISTRICT DECIDED TO PAY IT FORWARD. >> MAURICE, LOOKING TO BE BACK. >> FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN STATE COLLEGE IS COMMITTED TO HELPING FUND YOUR PARTICIPATION IN OUR FIREFIGHTER ONE AND 2 PROGRAM WHEN YOU ARE READY TO PURSUE THIS WE WANT YOU TO JOIN US. >> DEFINITELY. SO FROM ONE MAN'S DARKEST HOUR BEFORE THESE PEOPLE DIDN'T COME TOGETHER, I KNOW I WOULDN'T BE TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW. I FELT LIKE I EARNED IT LIKE I EARNED TO. >> SHAKE THE HAND OF THE CHIEF OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. >> THANK YOU. IT SEEMS SO. INADEQUATE. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE IN NAPLES THAT WASN'T HERS, GREENS A
How two teen brothers' bravery helped save a Florida man's life
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Updated: 5:25 PM CDT Apr 1, 2025
What Steve Stikna of Naples, Florida, imagined would be a relaxing swim in the pool turned into what his wife, Dorothy, witnessed as the fight of his life."He was face down, and he was very heavy," Dorothy said. "I couldn't lift his head up, so when I realized that, which was right away, I started screaming for help." Thankfully, Dorothy's cries for help didn't go unheard."I see my mom," said 13-year-old Maurice. "She's over on the other side looking at the neighbors. I know in my mind that something's wrong." The Stikna's neighbors, Maurice and Zachary Wilson, knew they had to help."I just sprinted over here. I just see her in the water holding her husband up, just crying," Maurice said."I was just kind of shocked because I wasn't expecting that," said 15-year-old Zachary.Maurice and Zachary jumped into the pool to hold Steve steady and prevent him from going underwater. Not only did Maurice's selfless act save Steve's life, but it helped further his own."We want you to join us," said Lt. Robbie Schank, as the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District offered Maurice a scholarship to Florida Southwestern State College's Firefighter I and II programs."I felt like I earned it," Maurice said. "I felt like I earned to shake the hand of the chief of fire."As for Steve, while he plans to get in the pool and swim again, he takes this lesson with him."I'm a stroke survivor, so I'm on a lot of meds. I'm doing really well but not 100 percent," Steve said. "If all these people didn't come together, I know I wouldn't be talking to you right now. That day, I did everything wrong. I really didn't have much to eat, and I wasn't hydrating. Now I make sure I'm hydrated, I'm drinking water and sugar-free Gatorade."
NAPLES, Fla. — What Steve Stikna of Naples, Florida, imagined would be a relaxing swim in the pool turned into what his wife, Dorothy, witnessed as the fight of his life.
"He was face down, and he was very heavy," Dorothy said. "I couldn't lift his head up, so when I realized that, which was right away, I started screaming for help."
Thankfully, Dorothy's cries for help didn't go unheard.
"I see my mom," said 13-year-old Maurice. "She's over on the other side looking at the neighbors. I know in my mind that something's wrong."
The Stikna's neighbors, Maurice and Zachary Wilson, knew they had to help.
"I just sprinted over here. I just see her in the water holding her husband up, just crying," Maurice said.
"I was just kind of shocked because I wasn't expecting that," said 15-year-old Zachary.
Maurice and Zachary jumped into the pool to hold Steve steady and prevent him from going underwater.
Not only did Maurice's selfless act save Steve's life, but it helped further his own.
"We want you to join us," said Lt. Robbie Schank, as the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District offered Maurice a scholarship to Florida Southwestern State College's Firefighter I and II programs.
"I felt like I earned it," Maurice said. "I felt like I earned to shake the hand of the chief of fire."
As for Steve, while he plans to get in the pool and swim again, he takes this lesson with him.
"I'm a stroke survivor, so I'm on a lot of meds. I'm doing really well but not 100 percent," Steve said. "If all these people didn't come together, I know I wouldn't be talking to you right now. That day, I did everything wrong. I really didn't have much to eat, and I wasn't hydrating. Now I make sure I'm hydrated, I'm drinking water and sugar-free Gatorade."
