Every day, a shocking number of tragedies occur near or in the water. Thankfully, there are also many stories of heroic rescues. Each month at Life Saver Pool Fence, we dedicate a blog post to featuring a few of these drowning deaths and daring rescues. There are many more obviously, but these are the ones that crossed our path. As you can see in our June Drowning Deaths and Daring Rescues post, this tugs at our heart-strings.
As a company, we are dedicated to spreading awareness of water safety. That’s why, in spite of how morbid a post like this may appear, it helps to make people more aware of how they can avoid these situations themselves. We also loop in tales of quick-thinking rescues to show that when people know how to recognize when someone is drowning, it can save a life.
Here are June’s Tales of Drowning Deaths and Heroic Rescues
Heroes Come in All Sizes: A Big Sister Rescues Her Brother
Nine-year-old Lexie Comeau-Drisdelle doesn’t have it easy. Lexie has cerebral palsy and is not able to walk or speak. However, this didn’t stop her from calling for help when her 18-month-old brother fell into the family pool. While her family was inside preparing for her birthday, her younger brother slipped outside and fell into the pool. Lexie screamed until help arrived, saving the boy’s life. She was able to alert her family in the nick of time! Since the rescue, Lexie was honored by her local police department and Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, who noted: “Heroes come in all sizes.”
You can read the full story here.
Active Supervision Saves Lives
Take a look at the video that is linked in the story below. Can you spot the boy drowning? Many people at the scene of this terrifying drowning incident didn’t notice anything. Thankfully, the lifeguard was alert and attentive. Thanks to active supervision, the lifeguard was able to rescue the child. Remember, drowning deaths don’t usually happen with a lot of thrashing and screaming. In fact, it’s usually silent and deadly.
You can read the full story here.
Fourth of July Tragedy
Of all the holidays, Independence Day tends to be a bit more dangerous than most. This year, one toddler died and two others were seriously injured in separate incidents in Indiana. Contrary to what you may expect however, these incidents don’t have anything to do with fireworks. All three were pool-related occurrences. Our hearts go out to all of the families affected. We wish the two survivors a full recovery and our condolences are with the family of the two-year-old who died.
You can read the full story here.
Water Danger Won’t Wait For You to Be Prepared
This story from Tennessee is a cautionary tale for us all. Levi Hughes wore his life jacket almost all day… except while on the balcony of his family’s vacation house. That balcony overlooked a swimming pool. While the adults were distracted for a few fateful moments, Levi snuck into the pool and drowned.
“Drownings don’t always happen when you are wearing your swimsuit,” Nicole Hughes emphasizes. “They happen when you are loading the car after a Fourth of July party and looking for your casserole dish and your child slips back out to the pool.”
As we mentioned earlier, drowning happens quickly and quietly. It is so sad to see another young life lost to this silent killer. This mother’s “Water Guardian” tags are a wonderful way to honor her son’s memory, and spread the word about the dangers of drowning.
You can read the full story here.
Even a Bucket of Water Can Be Dangerous
Did you realize that a child can drown in as little as two inches of water? It’s true. Drowning can happen just as easily in your home as it can at a pool or the beach. In this story, a 7-month-old baby is in critical condition after he fell into a bucket of water. The bucket was being used for general cleaning. As you can see, pools and oceans aren’t the only potential drowning hazard.
It’s always important to beware a false sense of security. Your bathtub, toilet, or any other container of water can become lethal if your little one can get into them.
Please use toilet locks, never step away from your children during bath time, and make sure to empty any buckets or containers of water when you are not using them. A momentary lapse of supervision is all it takes for danger to strike.
You can read the full story here.
CPR Training With a Happy Ending!
Finally, let’s end on a positive note! This one is a cute story. This little boy had the chance to meet the first responders who saved his life! Thanks to their quick action, he’s still alive.
Public safety officials used the feel-good meet-and-greet to also advocate CPR training, swimming lessons and pool safety.
You can read the full story here.
