Every Sunday, we will share a story of a non-fatal drowning, discuss where things went wrong, and give some pointers on how to prevent it from happening to the people you love. Thankfully, these stories have happy endings for those involved, but sadly, we lose too many people to drowning every year. We hope examining these real-life stories help put the dangers of water into perspective and help you introduce various principles of water safety to your family!
Today’s story centers around 4yr old Linkin’s birthday. Already unique due to COVID-19, which led to a birthday parade versus a birthday party, Linkin’s 4th birthday was even more special- he had drown just 11 months before and was celebrating life.
Today, rather than focusing on layers of protection, we would like to use Linkin’s amazing recovery as a tool to bring awareness to another outcome of drowning. Most people believe drowning has only one outcome- death, but drowning can actually end in three ways. Fatal, non-fatal, and non-fatal with injuries. Due to the lack of oxygen to the brain, many drowning survivors live another day, but live a new life completely different for themselves and their families than what they lived before the drowning. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “For every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.” Many families and survivors have worlds completely changed by one missed layer of protection, in one quick instance, whether fatal or non-fatal. Hopefully being aware of this lost experienced by others will be powerful enough to help you take the steps to implement the layers of protection to prevent drowning happening to those you love.
A drowning, fatal or non, will change the rest of your life. Have fun, be safe, and celebrate life!