WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers SAVING GRACE- Simi Valley resident Kevin Wattles sits with his 5-year-old son Ethan next to the pool in their backyard. Last week Ethan, who just started learning to swim, pulled his father to safety after Kevin reinjured his neck while diving into the pool. On a warm summer evening last week, Simi resident Kevin Wattles, 45, was playing around in his backyard swimming pool with his two sons, Kyle and Ethan.

Climbing out of the water, Kevin stood dripping at the rim of the pool and called for his boys to watch him do a perfect dive, one worthy of the Olympics.

A self-described joker, he flung himself into the 9-foot deep end with little finesse, purposely throwing his feet over his head to make a big splash.

But suddenly, something went wrong.

He had smacked his head against a pool skimmer, seriously aggravating a threemonthold neck injury. An electric shock shot down his spine, and he couldn't move his arms or shoulders.

Kevin grabbed his neck, treading water with his head barely above the surface. Thinking his dad was kidding, 12-year-old Kyle went on playing with a neighborhood friend. Then Kevin heard a small voice.

"Dad, are you okay?" 5yearold Ethan asked his dad from the edge of the pool. "Are you okay?"

Tears streaming from his eyes, Kevin could only muster a strained response before Ethan- sans his Spiderman floaties- jumped in to help. Wrapping one arm around his father's neck, he used his other hand to paddle toward the wall 4 feet away. Once there, he gripped the edge and dragged his father to safety in the shallow end.

Somehow, the 40pound towheaded tyke who can barely swim had rescued his 240-pound father.

Kevin, a former collegiate heavyweight wrestler turned attorney, was unable to move from the steps of the pool for about 10 minutes. Finally, he managed to walk into the house to tell his wife what had happened.

"It was unbelievable," he said, recalling last Friday's event. "I had just started trying to teach him how to dog paddle."

Ethan was a hero. But his mother, Stacy, 41, was not that surprised by his actions.

"It doesn't surprise me because all three of the kids are very caring and always looking out for each other," she said.

Still, she was impressed by her 5-year-old's strength.

"I was shocked; I mean, how could he (physically) do it?" she said. "I was bragging about it to everybody."

Ethan's older sister, Brittany- who was in the house at the time of the accident- said she also was proud of his quick response.

"He's a little hero," the 15year-old said. "I didn't think he could do that because he never jumps in the pool, only in the shallow end."

Kevin said that in the past his younger son has "avoided the deep end like the plague."

"I was surprised that at age 5, knowing the fear he has of the deep end, he completely disregarded it and jumped in to get me," he said. "He has no training. He can't really swim, but he did exactly what he should have done."

Stacy said that for the rest of the night Ethan did not dare leave his father's side.

"The funny thing was, if Kevin walked into the kitchen (Ethan) would follow him because he was afraid he was going to fall," she said.

Kevin said he is not sure what would have happened had Ethan not come to his aid. All he knew at the moment was that he was in trouble.

"Do I think I would have actually died? I doubt it," he said. "But I was having serious difficulty. . . . I was just trying to hold on."

Ethan was shy about sharing his story of bravery with the Acorn, but said he would save his dad again because he loves him "a lot."

"Since this happened, it's constantly, 'I love you' to everybody," Ethan's mom said. "I think it scared him."

Kevin said he could tell that Ethan was proud and relieved after getting to the pool's steps but that he was more sheepish than anything.

"He just did what he thought he had to," Kevin said.

The experience should serve as a cautionary tale, he said: It's not a good idea to goof around at the pool.

Stacy learned a valuable lesson, too.

"Ethan really needs to get some swimming lessons," she said with a laugh.