Drowning Survivor Expects Release From Dallas Hospital

A Palestine man who was saved from drowning at Lake Tawakoni expected on Tuesday to be released from Medical City Hospital of Dallas as early as Wednesday.

Willie Walter Hogan Jr. was transferred to the Dallas hospital on Friday from Hunt Regional Medical Center, according to his daughter, Jessica Hogan.

"His kidneys were getting worse," she said as the reason for moving her father to the Dallas hospital. She said he developed pneumonia, and Hogan was in need of kidney dialysis.

Jessica said his condition improved almost immediately when the dialysis began. She said when she talked to Hogan’s wife on Monday, she indicated that he had started to walk some but tired easily.

Hogan fell into Lake Tawakoni while fishing from the causeway on FM 751 and could not regain a hold on the slippery concrete. Three passersby, David Yarbrough and Mark Lazano in boats, and Greg Hill in a car on FM 751 were credited with saving Hogan’s life as they pulled him from the lake and administered CPR. He had not had a pulse until after CPR.

Jessica Hogan said the three men had remained in contact with the family to stay apprised of his condition. She said her father had met with two of his rescuers and had begun remembering some of the accident.

She said he had not remembered what happened at all at first but had begun to regain memory of some of the incident.