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 we share a rescue completed by teenage cousins Jonah and Dylan. While jet-skiing, they came across a man in trouble. His boat had somehow flipped over. Now the man (who couldn’t swim) not only found himself suddenly in water he had never planned to be in, but in the chaos of the incident some rope got tied around his ankle, keeping him locked in with the now sinking boat.
Thank goodness these boys were here to help this man! The big message I take away from this is that the man had not planned on entering the water at all that day. Sadly, we hear
this statement a lot when talking about an important layer of protection- Life Jackets. Many drownings occur because people do not take precautions to keep themselves protected because they don’t plan on entering the water, even though their activities have them on or close to the water- like boating or fishing. Even if you are not swimming, any water related activity deserves some water safety steps to keep you and your loved ones safe, and just wearing a life jacket can reduce your chances of a fatal drowning significantly. But you must wear it! A life jacket sitting nearby or on a boat but not on your body will not help when an accident suddenly occurs. There will not be a “head’s up, time to get your lifejacket on” signal that goes off right before an emergency. Wear your life jacket at all times, especially with natural bodies of water.
Wear a life jacket in, on, or around water. Have fun, be safe, and wear a life jacket!
