This is the reason we do what we do...Because we know how many families are out there and think they are alone! I contact every writer of these stories that I can and ask them to please if nothing else let people know about us and that they are not alone!! I will keep reporting these accidents each month and hopefully you or someone you know will live in an area where a story is reported and you can tell families they are not alone, and there is hope! Everytime I hear of a child that passes away I have to wonder if it was God's decision or a Dr. conviencing a family that it is better for the child and the family if you just let them go...Even if it means withholding food or not putting in a trache.
I am not againt stopping life support if that is all that is keeping a child or anyone else alive, because if you can't live without a machine breathing for you and keeping your heart beating then that is not life... But when a child is breathing on their own and their heart is beating on it's own then that is MURDER... No matter how you look at it!
And it is not the Parents fault, they don't know that there is hope and that a whole new world opens up for you and in time you appreciate life so much more!
I could keep adding these stories from month to month and each month their would probably be at least one drowning or near drowning. It happens all too often, and no one speaks out about it... No one can give you an estimate of how many occur each year. Most never say the child went home with severe brain damage, but they do report the ones who die or go home with no brain damage! It is just a very tough subject for parents to talk about because of the guilt and shame, that they should not have to be feeling at this time! If you know us or meet someone who knows us they would tell you that if this was going to happen to a family it could not have happened to a better one because they are a wonderful family and you just knew they would find their purpose! And we are not alone, the difference is we are speaking out because we live in a community that we are well known in, and who supports us and what we do. No one is surprised at our decision to Found the Hugs Foundation (for near drowning children) because they know that is just the kind of people we are! Seth goes out with us no matter where we go, if it's a family thing Seth is there! We don't see Seth as a burden, we see him as a blessing! And I am not sure anything can change the fate of anyone, but we can't give up and not inform people about the lasting effects of what near drowning means... If one family puts up a fence because they met Seth then we accomplished that... If somehow an accident happens after all precautions were taken then you know it was gonna happen no matter what! Our belief is "everything happens for a reason" but not everyone finds the reason or the purpose! I will continue to talk to anyone I can about Seth and the other kids, and make someone listen, and start supporting the families instead of condemning them!
You Tube Video's and Stories from Parents.
I added these different video's from You Tube to not only Educate but try to prevent even one accident like this that can cause so much pain and suffering to any family!
I added this section to show people just how easily and often drownings and Near Drownings Happen:
Summer 2009 Near Drownings
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Fleetwood Mac Star Responds To Inaccurate Near-Drowning Story
Fleetwood Mac founder Mick Fleetwood has issued a statement following reports his six-year-old daughter almost drowned at his family home in California on Friday.
The rocker's daughter Ruby is recovering in hospital after falling into a swimming pool, but Fleetwood insists she wasn't at her own home when the incident occurred.
A Fleetwood spokesman says, "On Friday, Ruby and her twin sister Tessa were on a playdate with close friends of the family at a pool in the Hidden Hills area of Los Angeles. Contrary to recent Internet reports, the child was not doing cartwheels near the pool and did not hit her head. The accident did not occur at the Fleetwoods' home."
The spokesperson confirms Ruby passed out in the pool and was revived by CPR before she was taken by ambulance to West Hills Hospital. She was later transferred to Cedars-Sinai Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where she is currently being treated.
Attending doctor, Keith Kumble, confirms young Ruby is in critical, but stable condition. He says, "Ruby was the victim of an accident that is potentially extremely serious, but she is doing quite well and the medical staff at (hospital) Cedars (Sinai) is optimistic that she will make a full recovery."
(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)
Toddler critical after near drowning in relative's pool
A 2-year-old girl was listed in critical condition this afternoon after she nearly drowned in a relative's swimming pool in Hillsborough, police said.
The incident occurred at shortly after 1 p.m. on Kilmer Drive, police said. The toddler, whom police did not identify, was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where she was listed in critical condition.
Police responded to the Kilmer Drive dwelling after receiving a report of an unresponsive female who had drowned in a swimming pool, authorities said. Family members removed her from the water before officers arrived, police said. Officers immediately started performing CPR.
The child and her father, who live on Capricorn Drive, were visiting relatives on Kilmer Drive when the incident occurred. The Hillsborough Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office are investigating.
A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after nearly drowning Wednesday at the Great Oaks Apartments.
Emergency personnel were dispatched about 8 p.m. to the Linden Road apartment complex and arrived to find a passer-by performing CPR on the boy. The boy, a resident of the complex, was swimming with two other youths and residents in the 10-foot-deep pool when for unknown reasons the boy went under.
“They thought he was kidding, just messing around,” Winnebago County Sheriff’s Sgt. Paul Lipinski said of the boy’s two friends.
“After some time, about three minutes, they figured he wasn’t kidding and got help. A passer-by pulled him out of the pool and performed CPR.”
Girl, 11, very critical after near-drowning off Lantana Road
An 11-year-old girl was taken to JFK Medical Center in very critical condition after someone found her face-down in the Smith Farms development pool near Lantana Road at around 2 p.m. today. Strangely, the girl was lying with her body on the pool deck and only her face in the water, said Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera. Bystanders attempted CPR until paramedics arrived, Barbera said. The girl had been attending a birthday party.
Near drownings concern local fire chief
By: JOHN HALL - Staff Writer
A dramatic increase in near drownings of children in Murrieta has the city's fire chief concerned. So far this year, four children have nearly drown in Murrieta ---- twice the average number of such cases typically in the city, Fire Chief Phil Armentrout said. "And we are just starting to get into the hot months," he said. "This is a very disturbing trend."
Already this year, three children 12 or younger have drowned in pools or Jacuzzis, only one less than all of 2004, according to the Riverside County coroner's office.
According to the National Safety Council, about 300 children 4 and younger die each year in swimming pools. "By all means, you absolutely have to watch them at all times," Armentrout said. "You can use all these great safety devices, but the best thing to do to prevent this from happening is watch them." Tom Smith's son, Colten, died after sustaining brain damage from falling into a Jacuzzi in Murrieta in December 2000. Colten was 7 when he died in July. Since the accident that would ultimately claim his son's life, Tom Smith has strived to educate adults and children about pool safety. He formed the non-profit Colten Smith Foundation and does presentations about pool safety at area schools.
There are many Web sites with information about pool safety, including
TORONTO - Two infants are in hospital after a near-drowning in a bathtub in a northwest Toronto home.
The children, believed to be a one-year-old girl and a 10-month-old boy, were rushed to hospital at around 8 a.m. The girl was reportedly unconscious when paramedics arrived, but was revived on the way to hospital.
Toronto police Sgt. Peter Stehouwer says it appears the mother was bathing the children in the tub with the tap running and the plug removed.
He says one of the children had a facecloth that may have plugged the drain and caused the water level to rise.
Stehouwer says it's believed the mother was temporarily away from the tub at the time and there is "nothing to prove criminal or malicious intent."
KHQ-TV
updated 2:58 a.m. PT,Tues., Jan. 29, 2008
WHITMAN COUNTY, Wash. - A 7 year-old boy who nearly drowned after falling into a pool has been taken to Sacred Heart medical center and is listed in critical condition.
The incident happened in Whitman County in the 1000 block of Klaveano road and Highway 195.
Initial reports indicated that the child had not been seen by family members in approximately 30 minutes. The father of the child indicated that the cover of the in-ground pool had a visible tear near one of the corners leading him to believe that the child had fallen into the pool.
August and September 2007
Stem Cell Therapy for Boy After Near Drowning Leaves Him in Vegetative State
By Wendy Victora, Northwest Florida Daily News, February 5, 2007
Slumped in a blue reclining chair, Michael sits in his father’s front room.
Underneath the teenager’s sweatpants, the fifteen year old wears powder-blue diapers.
Moving forward and to the right, his head droops, only to jerk up as Michael tries to make eye contact with others.
After traveling 9,000 miles for adult stem cell therapy, this jerky head movement could perhaps be a sign that the treatment he received is working.
Doctor’s injected stem cells several times into his bloodstream and spine while his father sat hoping for positive results in the Chinese hospital.
And even though David, Michael’s father, is afraid to hope that his son will make some sort of recovery because he doesn’t want to be heartbroken again; he is equally afraid not to.
"Believe me, when you're in this condition, you look for any change you can," he said.
After becoming intoxicated at a beach party with other teens, the then fourteen year old Michael drowned. He was resuscitated but the damage was done. Extensive brain damage occurred when he went without oxygen for a period between 10 and 30 minutes.
Just like Terry Schiavo was lost in a vegetative state, Michael has been locked in this persistent condition since his drowning in June of 2005.
After communicating with other parents of brain-injured children on an internet support group, David decided to look into stem cell therapy.
"Parents have to be careful. It's your child. You'll do anything. People will take advantage of you," said David, who added that there are a number of alternative therapies available.
But he said that the most hope was offered by adult stem cell therapy.
"It's not a magic bullet. On the other hand, it's not black magic, either," he said.
Certain stem cells therapies are being used in the United States today, however, the procedure is limited to experiments and specific diseases such as leukemia.
Since a patient receives healthy bone marrow stem cells from a donor to replace abnormal ones, a bone marrow transplant is technically stem cell therapy.
But there are no stem cell therapies available for neurological injuries such as Michael’s.
David’s internet research returned few results. He found that only three countries, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and China, offered the kind of stem cell therapy Michael needed.
It was a mix of eastern and western medicine, and the $20,000 six-week hospital stay included fee, that made China his choice.
David and his wife of two years, Dana, flew to China with Michael in late November. It was trip made possible with money withdrawn from David’s 401(k).
Michael was in and out of wheelchairs and airline seats during the 30-hour trip. Not a simple task considering Michael is basically as David says, a “152 pound infant”.
Michael’s spinal cord was injected with four doses of umbilical cord stem cells over the six-week course of treatment. A fifth cord blood stem cell infusion was administered intravenously.
The immature stem cells should stimulate a response within the next three months according to the Chinese doctors.
"What I'm personally hoping for is in the next couple of months (that he'll be able) to give me a yes or no," David said. "(The) long-term goal is that he'll come back, 'Where have I been for a year-and-a-half?' " his father added wistfully.
The things that Michael can do are still more difficult to list than that things he cannot. He can’t swallow anything, not even his own saliva, so he has a feeding tube to help him through the process. None of his extremities move voluntarily, but he still has sensation in all of them.
Michael has no response when his father plays music that Michael downloaded before the accident. His eyes cannot track colors or movement.
He laughs randomly, and occasionally - heartbreakingly - cries.
Michael was plagued by a skin condition since the brain injury, but that has at least disappeared.
But it is difficult to measure more signs of progress.
David has not slept through one single night since the accident because Michael hasn’t either.
A baby monitor in his room alerts his father when Michael wakes up. He may just be awake; or it’s possible that his position needs to be shifted or that his diaper needs to be changed. Michael can’t tell his father.
David wakes up every time Michael does. His father says that Michael’s body clock appears to have been permanently injured from the brain damage.
"It would be pretty bad if he died on my watch," said David. "Right now, it's just maintaining him physically until the cognitive part kicks in."
For now, David just focuses on the moment that is right in front of him - on surviving that one, and the one immediately following.
Until Michael reaches the age of 22, he will attend Silver Sands School during the day.
David and his son had talked about Terri Schiavo and how her life ended. David thinks back to those past moments on occasion.
"If you're asking me what he would have wanted, he would not have wanted this," David said. "But he does not have that choice."
For now, David is looking for proof that he has gotten even the smallest fraction of his son back, evidence that the adult stem cell therapy is working.
"All we gotta do is make it through another day, another day, another day. I can't look way into the future," he said.
"If I look too far, I might see the truth, you know, and I don't know if I want to."
Infant Near Drowning
KOTV - 9/12/2007 11:45 AM - Updated 9/13/2007 11:00 AM
Authorities are investigating a near drowning of an infant in west Tulsa Wednesday morning. Tulsa Police say the incident occurred at an apartment complex in the 2300 block of South Maybelle shortly before 9:30 a.m. The baby was taken to a Tulsa hospital by EMSA in critical condition.
Tulsa Fire Captain Larry Bowles tells the News On 6, firefighters responded to an apparent accidental drowning of a 7-month-old infant in a bathtub. Captain Bowles says at this time there is no reason to believe this incident was nothing more than an accident.
In Orange County California alone it is reported that 9 children have died from drownings but no report on near drownings...
Here is what I found in my research
It was a crowded pool at a birthday party in a Villa Park home. It was a perfect day for a party - warm and sunny. There were plenty of kids in the pool and even more adults standing around the pool watching them. But not one of those kids or adults noticed 4-year-old Aurora Pruitt of Moreno Valley slip underwater and drown in the shallow end of the pool, according to an article in The Orange County Register.
The article states that there were as many as 15 children in the pool ranging in age from 3 to 16 years old. According to the report, five adults were watching the children. They made the horrible discovery at lunch time when all the children got out of the pool except for little Aurora. A parent who saw her at the bottom of the shallow end of the pool, pulled her out and tried to resuscitate her, but didn't succeed. Paramedics rushed her first to Chapman Medical Center and later to Children's Hospital of Orange County in Orange, where she died just after 9 p.m. Tuesday.
According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, 18 children under the age of 18 have drowned in Orange County since January and nine of those children who drowned were under 13 years of age.
These are truly alarming numbers for Orange County. Drowning is the leading cause of death for young children in Orange County and California where backyard pools are the norm rather than the exception. Pools are a great resource and a pool parties are a great activity for the summer. But they can also be a liability. If a child drowns in your backyard pool under your watch, you could be held liable.
In this case, it seems as if adults were watching the children in the pool, but the pool was just too crowded and no one was in charge of pool safety. Also remember, it takes but a few minutes for a child to silently slip underwater and become unconscious. These drownings or near-drownings, if they don't result in death, could result in severe brain damage. Do not let this happen to your children or any child under your watch.
Here are some tips to prevent pool drowning and promote safety at your pool party from the American Red Cross' Web site:
Make sure that parents
Make sure that parents or caretakers of all invited guests are aware that the party is a pool party. If possible, have a lifeguard on duty. If not hiring a lifeguard, identify or appoint responsible adults to supervise the pool when it is being used. These individuals must understand and accept responsibility for monitoring the pool and should be trained in CPR, first aid and water safety. Establish rules for safety such as prohibiting all dives into shallow water; walking - no running on the deck; not permitting glass in the pool area Do not serve alcoholic beverages to guests who are or will be participating in water activities. Maintain cleanliness of water. Water should be chemically treated and tested regularly. Check with the homeowner's insurance company to determine the limits of coverage. Additional coverage for the event may be required.
Our home has have a rockscape pool with swim through, waterfalls and jumping rocks. We have parties that include many children, some who can not swim. We have two parties a year speciallically for the children of our law firm team members. Since I am very aware of the number of back yard pool drownings of children each year and that a homeowner is nearly strictly liable for a home pool drowning, we are constantly aware and vigilent when we have guests.
Our pool rules include at least one parent of each non-swimmer child must at least have their feet in the water while their child is in the water (we have a beach entry to the pool). Another rule is that there is always one parent at a time that is assigned as the "life guard" to watch the entire pool. Our "life guard" walks the edges of the pool (it is free formed boulders in a jungle setting) while on duty as a way to keep the "life guard" focused on pool safety rather than socializing. Many times we have pairs of "life guards", usually mothers who walk the pool together, watching the children and chatting.
After reading about the Villa Park drowning I am considering actually hiring a life guard for pool parties rather than counting on parents.
Children Drown without a Sound Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths to children ages 14 and under. A temporary lapse in supervision is a common factor in most drownings and near drownings. Child drownings can happen in a matter of seconds, in the time it takes to answer the phone. Use the links below to learn the facts about drowning and what you can do to prevent a drowning accident.
Two Orange County toddlers drown in backyard pool
This week was a tragic one for a Garden Grove family that lost two toddlers, who drowned in the family's backyard swimming pool Wednesday.
Khloe Hyunh was only 21 months old and her cousin, Jason Nguyen was 2 years old. The children's mothers are sisters, according to an article in the Orange County Register.
Officials say that it took only minutes for the two children to slip away into the deep, green, murky water and drowned in the backyard pool, which hadn't been used for a while. The mother of one of the toddlers was in the house and had let the two kids out of her sight for about 15 minutes, the article said. Doctors tried to save the children, but both died.
Officials said the pool had a fence, but are trying to determine if the gate had been left open.
Here we are. It's only a few days into spring and already we have two deaths in Orange County. Drowning is the No. 1 cause of death for children under the age of 5, but officials unanimously agree that these tragedies are 100 percent preventable.
"It's only a matter of seconds," said Cindy Nagamatsu Hanlon, a community safety officer with the Garden Grove Police Department. "You can't afford to let them out of your sight for a second."
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an estimated 350 children under 5 years of age drown each year in swimming pools, many in residential pools. The Commission estimates that another 2,600 children under age 5 are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year following submersion incidents. Some of these submersions result in permanent brain damage. Two out of three drownings happen between May and August.
But children don't only drown in backyard pools. In-ground spas and inflatable pools can also pose significant dangers. Inside the house, young children are at risk of drowning in bathtubs, large buckets and even toilets. The state of California, which is the land of beaches, pools and spas, used to be the nation's leader in drowning deaths of children ages 0 to 4. But over the years, thanks to legislation and tougher rules, which are absolutely necessary in addition to good old common sense, these incidents have reduced. In 1991 the 121 children between ages 0 and 4 drowned. Compare that in 2004, when there were 63 deaths in that category. More information and numbers specific to California are available on the State Department of Health's Web site.
In the back yard pool drowning cases we have handled, the pool owner has been held liable to the family of the drowning victim in every case. Pool owners, be warned. If a child or even an adult, downs in your pool, more likely then not, you will be held financially responsible.
Of course, that's no reason to rejoice. We still lost 63 precious lives. The key to preventing these deaths lies in continued education, awareness and remaining vigilant at all times around children. The Orange County Fire Authority is holding a workshop for county residents on how to prevent these tragedies. This workshop will be held May 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Blue Buoy Swim School, 1702 Nisson Road in Tustin.
Meanwhile, here are some tips from Safe Kids U.S.A, a nonprofit dedicated to child safety:
Never leave a young child unsupervised in or around water, even for a moment.
Never allow children to swim without adult supervision.
Always designate a responsible adult to serve as the "water watcher" - a supervisor whose sole responsibility is to constantly observe children in or near the water. Reviewed Unintentional Drownings by Primary Supervisor at Time of Drowning
Supervisors should maintain continuous visual and auditory contact with children in or near the water, and should stay in close proximity (waterside) so that they can effectively intervene if an emergency situation should arise. Supervisors should not engage in distracting behaviors such as talking on the phone, preparing a meal or reading. Supervisors should keep children who cannot swim within arm's reach at all times.
While there is no specific recommended ratio of supervisors to child swimmers, the number of supervisors should increase when many children are swimming, younger or inexperienced swimmers are present, or the swimming area is large.
These are just June and July of 2007... And I can find one everyday!
I hope that these stories will help people to understand that No parent is perfect, and not one parent can say they have always made sure their children were safe... You think about it and I can imagine the times you think of that's right I sure was lucky that time I turned a blind eye for a minute and nothing serious happened to my child!
YES! Without a doubt there are the rare times that you can honestly say a parent was neglectful and you know one day something was going to happen to one of those children! But I hear very few cases like that... A drowning or near drowning accident can happen to the very rich as well as the very poor and all those in between! That is the point we want to get across!
Infant dies after being hospitalized for near drowning in Hollywood
By Sofia Santana Sun-Sentinel.com Posted June 11 2007, 9:22 PM
Hollywood -- A 1-year old boy who this afternoon was found motionless in his family's backyard pool has died at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, police said.
Though the child's mother and other relatives were home at the time, he apparently wandered into the pool unnoticed, said police, who have not yet released the child's name or the names of the parents.
SOMERVILLE, Ohio -- A baby was hospitalized Tuesday morning after his mother found him unresponsive in a bathtub, police said.
Authorities said 11-month-old Cody Webb, of Somerville, was not breathing when his mother, Tiffany Baker, found him in a bathtub around 10:30 a.m.
The child was flown by helicopter to McCullough-Hyde Hospital in Oxford and then to Children's Hospital, where he remains in unspecified condition.
"They said he was breathing on his own every three minutes," said neighbor Starlene Rumpler.
The incident remains under investigation by police, but another neighbor told News 5 the mother may have gone to let in the family's three dogs, briefly leaving the baby alone in the tub.
CINCINNATI -- A Somerville mother could face charges after her baby nearly drowned in a bathtub, police said.
A neighbor told News 5 that Tiffany Baker, 19, might have left her son alone in the bath Tuesday while she let in three dogs.
