Drowning: The Silent Killer
Drowning: The silent killer. Isn’t it obvious when someone is drowning? A grandmother of one of my students shared a story with me the other day. She agreed to let me share it with you.
Here’s what she wrote…
How a drowning REALLY happens.
I had no idea how FAST and SILENT a drowning is!!! I always thought it involved flailing, splashing, yelling… like in the movies.
Our family has been dragging our feet, discussing getting swim lessons for my beloved granddaughter. Two years, now. Like most children, she absolutely LOVES water.
Our Country Club has a gorgeous, huge, heated salt water pool and two Jacuzzis. She likes nothing better than to go for a swim after school. Plus her parents enjoy a break after work and prepare dinner.
Age four, she’s a ‘big girl’ now, not a ‘baby’ anymore. Objects to tubes, armbands, vests – since her friends at the pool – same age – are ‘water safe’ and have basic swim skills.
One evening, after the pool, I let her get into the Jacuzzi. Very shallow, 3 feet deep. A man turned on the jets and got in. I sat in a chair on the edge, wrapped in my robe, while she played on the steps. No phone. No book. No distractions. Just watching her.
I noticed, with the jets on, she started moving VERY very slowly, away from the steps, towards the middle of the Jacuzzi. Drifting.. Puzzled, I called “Tilly?”
She managed to turn and look at me. Her mouth and nose were under. She didn’t even know how to hold her breath underwater! Her eyes!!! Wide open in panic and terror as they went under. She was drowning right under my nose, three feet away. DEAD SILENT. The man in the Jacuzzi facing her? No clue.
I went straight in, robe and all and grabbed her. It happened in a matter of SECONDS, SO fast! So SILENT! Afterwards, I was shaking like a leaf. Absolutely horrifying and traumatic, for both of us.
Then I contacted Tessa Rhodes and booked swim lessons. I need peace of mind. Last summer – Sea World and Legoland. This summer – swim lessons. She absolutely LOVES her lessons. Tessa is VERY patient with her. A bit of a slow start, after her near-drowning scare, but now, well on her way to being ‘water safe.’
She wants to be a professional swimmer in her future. Until then, I’ll watch her like a hawk. ‘Baby Steps’ I tell her.
I might have been ignorant, but I will not be negligent. Sadly, any and everybody can lose their toddlers to drowning. I never knew how that could happen? Now, I do. NOT on my watch.
Luckily Tilly’s grandmother, Patricia was actively watching. If she was engrossed in a novel or on her phone, it might have been quite a different outcome.
Drowning the silent killer. Drowning is without a doubt silent, and if there is no one actively watching, it will most certainly go unnoticed.
Thank you, Patricia, for sharing your personal experience. so
The fact that drowning is silent is something that most people don’t know.
Please share this newsletter with as many people as you can to bring as much awareness to the general population as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can save some lives with Patricia’s story.
Test your knowledge of water safety.
How much do you know about water safety? Find out with our 10 question true or false quiz. If you read Patricia’s narrative, you’re guaranteed to get at least one right.
You don’t have to enter any personal information, I promise. This link takes you directly to the quiz with instant results when you complete it.
Good luck! Hope you ace it! so
Love the water but fence it in, so
Tessa so drowning: the silent killer
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P.P.S. Join my private Facebook group. If you need to help your child overcome their fear of water or if you’re a swim instructor and would like to share some tips and tricks on the subject, please join my private Facebook group here.
P.P.P.S. To start your child on the path to becoming water safe, click here.
Thank you for sharing! This very experience happened to me as well with my two year old daughter. Sadly, I was right beside her when it happened. Luckily I saw her in time and she is alive and well but it shook me thinking about how different this day could’ve been. At the time my 2 children were both wearing the life jacket that’s sortof like a chest/lap belt with attached floaties. They’re very popular right now. We were at the pool, my two young children and I, and I was swimming with my son while my daughter played on the pool steps. My daughter (2 years old at the time) figured out she could slide the floaties off her arms and then simply wiggle out of the chest/lap belt (which, by the way, was adjusted very snuggly). I didn’t notice. I was right beside her when I looked over and saw her completely under the water, eyes wide as saucers. My four year old son had no idea what was happening. I grabbed her out of the water and we no longer wear this type of life jacket. Thankfully, this happened the week before we were going to be at my cousin’s lake house. I wouldn’t have thought twice at the time about her wearing this particular life jacket. It terrifies me to think about this same thing happening at a lake where I wouldn’t have been able to see her under the water.
Luckily, we stumbled across your website and I have since taught my son how to swim (he’s a new swimmer) and we’re working with my now 3 year old daughter as well!
Thanks again, Sarah
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m so glad you noticed your daughter in time. I have a friend whose son also shimmied out of his puddle jumper and ended up in the pool. Luckily she saw her son in time too. Here’s a link to a puddle jumper with a new design. One that I would think would be very difficult for a 2-year-old to remove. https://www.amazon.com/Chriffer-Toddler-Floaties-Shoulder-Children/dp/B08TTFT3Q2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=FWEUP77XHMP2&dchild=1&keywords=puddle+jumper+30-50+pounds+boy&qid=1624375903&sprefix=puddle+ju%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzSTJFWjNNOTgwVVJKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTE4NzY3VUpQOTBMRUZLQUU4JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzNDkzMTAyN1FTNTVXU05SQ1dMJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==