Drowning does not look like you think it would

[Dave R]

http://www.h2onotes.com/index2.asp?N...4C213ECE653484

Very good read. I helped a kid who was in "over his head" one time a few years back and this is exactly how he acted.

[eillac@dow]

You are right.....A Very Good Read. Thank you for sharing such important information.

[VitaBene]

Great post Dave- thank you

[trfour]

Salt water gives you a little more buoyancy, however freshwater will take you to the limit very quickly...
If you should want to swim for an extended period, have a boat fallow you, should you encounter any unforeseen short falls.

There have been a number of drownings right here in the Lakes Region This Year. Preventable YES. A Great thread and read by, Dave R

Unfortunately, we read about this topic way too often here.
http://citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...938/-1/CITIZEN

Thank you Dave R




Terry
__________________________________________________ ___________

[pcmc]

OMG! I can't Thankyou enough for this article.
I saw this look in my sons face over the July 4th weekend.
I was in less than knee deep water, maybe half way to the knee even, and my six year old was sitting, playing at my feet and a small wave splashed him in the chest and he swallowed a mouth full.
I just warned him "waves" so he'd be ready and he said," Oboy wa..GULP" It was just enough for him to loose his balance and lean back. I saw that open mouth, head back, hair over forehead look were his body had that instant shock from swallowing the water and not able to cough yet. His arms did go straight out to the sides, but he was also sitting on the bottom so probably trying to reach for balance also.
I picked him up by the arms instantly and he coughed a few times and went back to playing so I tried not to show fear, just kept asking,"You OK?"

He can't swim yet and knows it, so he stays close, but you can't look away for a minute.
Thanks for the article!!!!!!!!!!

[SteveA]

Great article. I've forwarded it to the person in charge of the e-mail network at Lake Shore Park. With all the people that use our beaches, this is a great reminder.

Thanks!

[fatlazyless]

Very informative post....thanks for posting it.


Say, I think it's appropriate for me to bring this up. For about 25-dollars, the Parafunalia Store in Gilford is the one and only place where I've seen these waterski or swimmer's belts that add a lot of safety for swimming the rough water or as a swimmer's helper. What greatly differentiates them from a normal pfd is that they greatly facilitate swimming because they center their buoyancy around the waist where it should be for ease and safety while swimming.

Highly recommended for swimming though waves, and made in one strap, or two strap models, depending on one's needs for floatation, they are sized s-m-l-xl. Better to get one that's too big, than too little, as the buckle can always be tightened up, and the larger models have more buoyancy. Unfortunately, Parafunalia only carries them in bright yellow color, and not in a white or some dark, less visible color. Me-thinks they would be more popular if available in a low key color like black or dark blue.

While a pfd is not designed to be a swimming aid, the waterski or swimmer's belt is an easy-to-wear swimmer's helper. If tired, one can always loosen the buckle and slide it up to just below your armpits, and take a rest without having to tread water. They add a very large margin of safety for swimming. While one cannot do any swimming while wearing a pfd, you can improve your swimming ability and safety by wearing the so-called waterski or swimmer's belt.

If it were up to me, I'd be changing the color from safety yellow to kahki and imprinting NAVY SEALS on the back .......U-RAH.......now's a good time for a 25-mile swim!

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by Dave R

http://www.h2onotes.com/index2.asp?N...4C213ECE653484

Very good read. I helped a kid who was in "over his head" one time a few years back and this is exactly how he acted.

DaveR..............Bravo. I would bet that some lives will be saved because you posted that link in your original post.

[DickR]

I sent the link to my daughter, previously a lifeguard at a waterslide park and at a beach. She replied:

"I saw this article the other day. It is true. You'd see it at the
waterpark. The kid with the big wide eyes just trying to keep his mouth
out of the water was the one you went in to get. That and at the beach it
was often the little tyke sitting in ankle deep water who would get knocked over
by a wave and then sit quietly wide eyed as other waves knock them around
and the mom's would sit and laugh and say " stand up, you're OK" and usually
we had to walk over and stand the kid up and you'd hear a gasp from them
when they were upright and they always started crying for momma. Many moms thought that the lifeguard had startled the kid and that is why they were
crying, so it was easier to not to try and explain that to them that their
child couldn't just stand up."

[SAMIAM]

With 5 grandkids recently learning to swim, that info will come in handy. Great post and just another reason why this forum is so great.

[ITD]

Swiming lessons and a swim test should be a requirement for graduating high school, along with how to balance a checkbook....

[NoRegrets]

If you trained them how to balance a checkbook you would eliminate any chance of them becomming a congressman.

[Fishy Cover]

Back in 1967 (I remember it like it was yesterday) I saw a guy fall out of a rubber boat while in an undertow approx 40' from shore. His friends pulled the rubber boat in to shore and seemed to overlook him. He did not do anything, just stayed there treading and bobbing and let the current take him further from shore and we could not understand why but decided that he was in trouble. I dove in and swam to him, more quickly that expected because of the undertow, and he immediately put his arms around my neck and said in a low, terrified voice that I will never forget "save me save me". So now I was trying to save both of us because he kept dunking me to get his head above water. I knew enough to swim to the center of the cove to get out of the undertow and got him on my back so I could swim. When I was about 40 yds from shore my friends swam out with an air mattress and took him, leaving me there. I somehow was swept back in the current and swam to some barnacle covered rocks that I climbed rather than getting back into the water. Barnacles are sharp and later I took 42 stitches in various places.

The guy I rescued said thanks. Since this was when I was in the Army and this was not an authorized beach I was reprimanded. Anyway both of us survived.

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by Fishy Cover

...and he immediately put his arms around my neck .....

Another rule that lifeguards learn is to never let the victim grab you. Grab them by the hair or shirt and swim with one arm.

[hazelnut]

One of the scariest things I've ever had to deal with in my life. My then 4 1/2 year old twin boys and I were at the lake. One was swimming with friends and he had a life jacket on. Still I was keeping a sharp eye on him. The other was on land following me around, no worries right. Well I turn my back for a split second and the one on land ventured over to the dock and he was apparently leaning over trying to pick something up out of the water. I was now up by the house and had continued to keep an eye on the swimmers until... I hear some of the kids screaming "Grab the dock, Grab the dock, Grab it!!" as they were out on the swim raft looking in on my son who had fallen off the dock. It all happened in a split second, I don't even remember how I got there but the next picture in my head was as I was in the air looking down at my son and his head was under water looking up, wide eyed, mouth open trying to gasp for air. I landed in the water next to him and scooped him up in my arms. He coughed and threw up water all over me. He was pale but breathing. I ran up on shore and asked him if he was ok and he nodded and said yes with tears in his eyes. I never hugged him so hard in my life. We sat wrapped in a towel for almost an hour. I was shaking. I had nightmares for a week. Sometimes I still have a bad dream that it went the other way.

Biggest wake-up call I've ever had. I let my guard down for a few seconds and got too comfortable with my son walking around the property and the docks. Needless to say many rule changes were put in place with the boys after that. They are never allowed anywhere near or around the docks without adult supervision.

So true is this original post. My son never made a sound. In fact the only sound I heard was a gasp as he popped up and went under. No scream no splash. Thank god for the kids that were nearby and saw it all happen.

[SteveA]

from todays Citizen.

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll...885/-1/CITNEWS

Nice work done by these young ladies and others at the beach.