[blparent] children drowning in shallow water

Thu Apr 5 22:49:12 UTC 2012

Wow, how sad!  It really shows that none of us are above this happening to
us.  I swam alone all the time by the time I was ten but really shouldn't
have been because anything can happen.  It's wise for even adults to have
someone around just encase something medical happens.  If my mother has a
heart-attack in the pool for example, we're now dealing with the
heart-attack on top of a huge risk of drowning.  I used to have holding your
breath competitions with my family and I thank God now that nothing happened
to any of us.  I once held my breath for two whole minutes and my father who
is a scuba instructor was beaming with pride at my ability.  When I think of
it now as an adult and mother, I could have so easily lost consciousness and
it could have been too late before my dad realized I wasn't holding my
breath but instead drowning.  I even remember thinking while I was under the
water that if I don't go up soon for air I might pass out. YIKES!

I did like a rule that my mother stuck firm to though while we were in the
pool especially.  No screaming at all unless something is truly wrong.
Girls especially are known for screaming when we get to goofing around and
my mom was true to her word because one day we forgot the rule and starting
screaming in our pool.  My mom came running over to the pool side and pulled
each of us out by our hair and bathing suits as though we were drowning.  I
can tell you we never forgot that rule again and she didn't have to do any
yelling to get her point across because she quietly explained that when she
hears screaming she's going to assume someone is in danger and get us out of
the pool ASAP.

Erin

-----Original Message-----
From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2012 3:36 PM
To: Blind Parents Mailing List
Subject: Re: [blparent] children drowning in shallow water

I have a good friend who knows somebody whose ten-year-old daughter nearly
drowned last summer when she was the only one in the pool.  She was a good
swimmer, but somehow she slipped and went under.  She lived, but she has
severe physical and cognitive disabilities now.  Her parents and brother
were moving boxes out of her grandmother's apartment, and the pool was right
there in the courtyard, so they were parading past the whole time.  But like
you said, they were distracted, and it only took a second.

Jo Elizabeth

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of
the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of
these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Erin Rumer" <erinrumer at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2012 4:31 PM
To: "'Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] children drowning in shallow water

> I met a mom in a breast feeding support group I went to in Tucson who 
> lost her 6 year old daughter to drowning in a pool during a family 
> birthday party.  I was touched that she was willing to share her story 
> and she told me that the hardest thing to deal with is people's 
> judgment toward her and her family.  She said that a person really 
> doesn't know how vulnerable they are until it happens to them and that 
> it can happen to absolutely anyone.
> The kids were playing and the little girl just got pushed under 
> accidentally during the rough housing.  It didn't seem to the adults 
> at the party that the playing was out of hand but it didn't take much 
> and there was the little
> 6 year old girl floating on top of the water lifelessly.  This taught 
> me that something like this can happen in seconds and to anyone.  It 
> is very crucial to also have designated adults who are in charge of 
> manning the pool at all times.  Like this woman told me, you get to 
> where people are thinking that others are watching the pool and so 
> their guard is let down for a second and boom, it happens.  It is when 
> we admit that this could happen to us no matter how prepared we are, 
> that we will truly be doing all we can to keep our loved ones safe.  I 
> got a wonderful idea from a facilitator at one of the play groups I 
> used to attend that I will be administering in my own life.  At a get 
> together where there are lots of people is wise to give an adult a 
> whistle that they keep around their neck for 15 minutes.  It is during 
> that 15 minutes that adult is in charge of the kids in the pool and 
> doing nothing else to get distracted.  After the 15 minutes are up, 
> the whistle is then passed onto another adult.  This way everyone 
> takes turns and isn't boggled down with pool duty for too long.  It's 
> also a good amount of time that a person can be focused on the pool 
> without getting distracted.
>
> Erin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf Of Veronica Smith
> Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2012 2:17 PM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] children drowning in shallow water
>
> I think if the baby/toddler was 18 months or older, they would be able 
> to lift their head or cry if they got water up their nose but what if 
> they were younger or if they fell forward and for some reason was not 
> able to push away from the shallow water?  I used to think the same as 
> you do, how in the world, but since I have read so many articles 
> saying it happens regularly,
> they it must be true.   Like a baby could be sitting playing and he/she
> could fall asleep right into a bowl of water.  they don't know to sit 
> up and cough, their lungs aren't developed enough or strong enough to 
> cough it up.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On Behalf Of Tay Laurie
> Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 10:33 PM
> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: [blparent] children drowning in shallow water
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> Please note: in this post, I am not in any way attempting to be 
> insensitive to the feelings of any parent whose child has passed on in 
> this or any manner. If you feel I have been insensitive, or otherwise 
> inappropriate, you may contact me off-list.
>
> Begin post
>
> I know it's logical that of course littler ones are able to drown more 
> easily, but I'm not sure I can quite understand how it is a silent killer.
> Is it because the respiratory system isn't developed enough yet to cough?
> Because if so, then how can he or she cough up secretions? I'm not 
> trying to be gross, just trying to figure it out. I would think that 
> once water entered the hthroat, specifically the trachea (windpipe) 
> the baby would lift his or her head, especially if he or she is 
> capable of doing so, say around
> 18 months of age, and would be able to cough it out, much like an 
> accidentally inhaled piece of food or sip of drink.
> Am I just thinking about this all wrong?
>
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