On April 18, 2017 our 3 year old son, survived a drowning incident in our family’s backyard pool. I had taken Noah and his older brother out to try out some new water squirters we had gotten for a party the next day. The pool was still freezing and we hadn’t been swimming in months. Neither child was wearing a bathing suit. I walked in the house leaving the sliding glass doors open to check on one of my other kids and after a few moments realized that my older son had followed me back into the house.
Noah was alone outside. I walked onto the back porch and saw him laying face down on the bottom of the pool.
Noah later told me that he climbed into the pool at the steps to try and retrieve a net that was lying on the bottom of the pool.
He’s alive today because I had been trained in CPR many years before, but never had to use it until that afternoon.
Many layers of protection are needed to prevent drowning accidents. On this day, the final layer of CPR is all that kept Noah alive and with us. Please install safety fences and be sure they are latched at all times (with self-latching gates). Always have a designated adult poolside whose full attention is on the water (wear a water-watcher badge). Ensure that your child has the skills needed to self-rescue, and lastly pursue CPR training for children and adults.
We hope by sharing Noah’s story a life can be saved.
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