Posted on 07/08/2010 7:22:03 AM PDT by ventanax5
Great article - a must click on and read - even the comments!
Thank you so much for posting this article. I’ve already shared it with my husband, and my daughters. I’m sure (as the comments at the site state) that this article has the potential to save MANY lives...
Once had some coworkers on my boat in a river close enough to the ocean for the river’s flow to be seriously affected by tides. The coworker’s daughters were on a tube tied to the boat with a 60’ rope. As the coworker and his wife joked with some other people and ate their lunch, I spotted the 10-yr old daughter hop off the tube to swim to the boat and get quickly taken back by the now swift, outgoing current of low tide. I immediately dove in the water, swam to her, and managed to swim with her against the current to grab the rope holding the tube.
Pulled us both back to the boat and climbed the ladder inside, where the clueless parents offered their daughter some lunch.
Amazing.
Our daughter nearly drown in a hot tub full of adults when she was 10 or 11. We, her parents, were standing next to the hot tub. She was timing herself to see how long she could hold her breath.
The last time, she went under and we were all counting. Got up to 90 seconds. I’m thinking, “wow~ I didn’t know she was so good.” All of a sudden, the hot tub pumps shut off and she pops up out of the water screaming, with a huge bruise on her back.
The safety grill was missing over the intake at the bottom and it created a suction on her back and held her down. Amazingly, she did hold her breath and had not ingested water in her lungs. We rushed her to the hospital, where they pronounced her healthy except for a huge hickey.
The horrible thing was we were RIGHT there, sober, fully awake and did not even realize something was wrong.
After the incident, our daughter developed an irrational fear of natural disasters. A nurse that works with near drowning victims told me that’s normal for kids that have such a close brush with death. They realize their mortality way too young.
OK.
Time for a personal story that’ll make me sound like an idiot (and I am).
About six or seven years ago, my two daughters were splashing in the “kiddie” pool while my brother and I sat less than three feet away. We were talking and not paying attention.
“Daddy.”
“Hold on, Sophie.” (back to conversation)
“Daddy.”
“Just a minute, Sophie.” (back to conversation)
“Daddy!!!”
“WHAT !!!”
“Lola’s under water.”
And there she was, in less than 18 inches of water, on her back, eyes open and looking up at us. My brother reached in with one arm, without dropping his cigarette and pulled Lola out.
I grabbed her and turned her over and patted her on the back until she coughed, and then she smiled at me.
“Don’t tell your mother.”
Thanks for posting this. I grew up in Pompano Beach Fla and the grade schools there required swimming lessons so all of us that were in school learned to swim. My baby sister was only 3 the day we were in our next door neighbor’s pool. All of the older kids were splashing and screaming the way kids do when one of the adults suddenly jumped up, screamed and pointed at the pool. My sister was laying on the bottom and looked like she was asleep. Dad jumped in and brought her up. As soon as she hit air she started choking and gasping. She was fine but kids don’t always stay at the surface when they are drowning. Mom and Dad took her for private swimming lessons that same week. Her young age probably helped save her because really young kids seem to survive near drowning better than older kids and adults.
I have suspected that all my life. I nearly drowned at the beach at about age 3, and I have no interest in swimming, or boating.
Great article. I didn’t know any of this. Thanks for posting it.
I can relate. Some of these stories bring tears to my eyes. Bad memories for this dry lander.
This could also be analogous to our economic situation. We could go down suddenly, silently and without warning suffocating on our debt. There is no "Captain" to save us.
That is lazy parents, plain and simple.
Excellent article. Thanks for posting.
As always you learn something new everyday on FR, great article, thanks for sharing that.
Wow, very interesting and beneficial post. Thanks.
The youngest kid (maybe 6) took his arm floaties off and climbed right down the ladder. The only person who noticed him go under and not come back up was my 13 year old son. He was walking up to the pool from the house and lunged over the side and dragged the kid back up. Now, if we're together, we designate a pool monitor.
Personally, I HATE arm floats. I think it allows the parents and the kid to get too complacent around water. If you can't swim, an adult should have to have hands on you. Period.
Excellent article. Thanks for the ping.
Ping for later.
Same here.
As I read though the comments there were tragic stories of drownings and well as some good advice.
Here in Missouri even fishing boats have to have a throwable ring, boat cushion or similar item with a rope attached.
After reading the article about drowning people "climbing the ladder" it makes good sense to have the item readily available in boats, at a pool, boat docks etc.
Once in a while big brother does get something right.
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