Drowning... Have You Ever Seen a Drowning

When I was a beach life guard at Redondo Beach, CA - I saved someone - beach life guards are a different breed!!! Any way - the guy was flailing in the water and caught in a rip tide - I had to swim out to him, he was in desperation mode - and tried to pull me under to get on top of me (typical response) I had to kick with all my might and cold-cock him to help him. I had to swim out/down of the rip tide - a boat came out to get us as the rip wasn't going INTO the beach.

There are sooo many different aspects to drowning. The fear, the panic, the desperation...

In the link provided, the boy is flailing but not as much as one would expect. That he is by himself is the key for me.

Thanks for sharing!!

I saved a little boy at an indoor YMCA pool. His parents were facing one another talking and the little boy kept getting out and jumping in to be caught. The parents were so wrapped up in chatting they didn't see him jump in. I was holding my almost 3 year old daughter at the time and I was on the other side from them. Yelling for help did no good. No one could hear me. I reached the boy and grabbed him. He choked up lots of water but was OK. His mom was hysterical. Ironically, my husband had come in to see if we were ready to leave right before I saved the boy and I told him to give us 10 more minutes. Not sure why. I was always ready to go. Now I believe I was meant to save him. (This was also only about 4 weeks after my own son had passed away.). I didn't save my son but I did save this little boy.

I have not seen a drowning occur but I have seen the aftermath, and it is horrible. A few summers ago, we were spending a wonderful, beautiful day at the lake. A teenaged girl and 2 younger children, maybe 5 and 8, went out on a blow up raft and were not too far from the shore, maybe out to the buoys (water maybe 8-10 feet deep). They did not wear life jackets. From what I understand, they jumped out to swim and then the raft floated away from them a bit. They were running out of energy keeping afloat and could not reach the raft. The teenager used her energy to keep the youngest afloat and was pushed down. Some people on jetskis noticed what was going on and brought the younger kids to shore. I was right next to the mother when she found out her daughter was missing underwater, and it was horrible. The beach was crowded but got completely silent as boats and scuba divers searched for her. I will never forget seeing her body being pulled from the water and the screams of her mother. She was pronounced dead soon after.
It could happen to anybody. Please make sure your kiddos, even teenagers, wear their lifejackets!

Yep, I do.

I was at a friends house last summer and their 4 year old was swimming in the pool. She had accidentally stepped off the top step and couldn't reach the bottom. I didn't even know it was her drowning, and said to the father, "Is he okay?" He immediately recognized that it wasn't their 6 year old son, as I thought it was, but the 4 year old daughter and jumped in (fully clothed) and pulled her out. She ended up being okay but it was a scary moment. It all happend so quickly and there were 3 adults standing around. But we were talking and not really watching the pool even though we were standing right next to it.

Yes, I have. It's terrifying and completely counter-intuitive. Not only does the person look "calm", but your first instinct is to jump in and graby them, which is also not the correct response.

It's not what you think. You cound your three times up and down in the water. You do not cry out for help. You try to for the fourth time to come back up above the water. You are in the pool and everything around you becomes calms and quiet. You begin to slide down a long tunnel and you begin the hulicinate like the Twilight Zone theme song and want to breath in the water thinking it is air. It is sort of the same feeling or sensation as when you are about to give birth with the sliding or drifting feeling. At the time you begin to breath in water, you take in air and look around and your gym teacher has a look of horror on her face because you are at peace with the world and you have this look on your face of what are you here? She tells a classmate to make sure you stay in the pool in the shallow end until the class is over so that you recover from your near-death experience.

That was my experience. To this day I can tell when a pool is over five feet of water. I still swim and enjoy the water. I will save myself from drowning to the bitter end if I should be in that situation again.

So do watch your children in the pool. Do keep an eye on them even if they are 3, 5, 9, 14, 15 or more.

The other S.

Thanks for posting the article. I've been in and around the water a LOT since I was a kid and apparently have never known what to watch out for!

Yes. I've been drowned 3x as part of my training, and I saw every other newbie in my unit drowned as well. Also half drowned (water boarded) for training.

1x holding a weight (or it can be strapped on you, your choice)
1x pulled under
1x as an endurance thing

(BTW... Those who write about it being painless are full o'it. It's not. It burns like fire -like water up your nose times a million... And every muscle in your body rebells against it. Some people actually vomit in the water or go into conscious seizure like 'flopping' in the water... And then labor like pain and vomiting/full body trying to expel EVERYTHING when you're resuscitated. I would guess idiots talk/write about it being peaceful because you can't scream. Especially the tread water until you can't anymore. You WANT to scream in pain and can't.

This is totally different from 'gulping water' that kids do when learning to swim / adults do from time to time (surfing, or knowled over by a wave, etc. Gulping water feels scary or dizzy euphoric because of the adrenaline. But the water is in your stomach. Not your lungs.

ETA Cheryl is TOTALLY right, btw. I did rescue swimming, and step 1 to saving yourself so you can save them is kicking men in the nuts and /or cold cocking them or choking them out (cc & choking for women, although a knee to the goin will sometimes work). If you don't stun or immobilize someone, you're both dead.

The last time I recertified for First Aid and CPR the instructor, who was a lifegaurd, showed a video. I have not seen it in real life.

thank goodness no, and i can't imagine how bad i would feel.

My kdis enjoy the water and we have a great time at the lake and the pool etc, and as they get older i am giving them more independence, But with that independance comes alot of education. so my kiddos and i have talked about this subject, I don't intend to keep them in a bubble but just like i teach them traffic safety, i will teach them water safety as well.

Thanks for the post. Just emailed to Mrs. On Purpose. Scary, but very good info to have.

thanks again!

Great info for all. Thanks for posting.