Drowning on dry land: A mother's plea to all parents.

“Take a good look at this photo” is all Darcy McQueeney asks.

Ezra is only three and a half.

And, this time, last Sunday, he was swimming in a pool. Two completely capable adults were standing just metres from the little boy when he went under the water for less than 30 seconds.

After he was pulled from the water, Ezra seemed quite normal. Talking and eating, maybe slightly tired.

For one of the most important posts on drowning Mamamia has ever published, read it here.

It wasn’t until six hours later that Darcy McQueeney, Ezra’s mum, realised her little boy wasn’t okay.

He was rushed to the hospital and eventually diagnosed with “secondary drowning”. Darcey shared this heartbreaking image, and important note to all parents:

Darcy writes:

Please take a good look at this photo. This is my 3.5 year old laying unresponsive in a hospital bed less than six hours after jumping into the pool. He only went under for less than thirty seconds. He was being watched by two sober, conscientious adults who were both less than ten feet away in a gated pool. That is likely why he is alive, because he was grabbed out of the water quickly. However, …that small blip of time was all it took for him to inhale water.

 

The water he inhaled caused him to spike a fever, desat, and become unresponsive due to a possible seizure. He was talking and even eating after the incident, but went downhill hours later. Everyone who we met in the PICU remarked at how incredibly lucky he is to be alive. Not only because he didn’t drown initially, but because he was at a gigantic risk for secondary drowning.

 

Despite him being able to eat and talk and seeming like he was ok after the incident, he was NOT ok.

 

Water safety should be a top priority for everyone. Do not ever leave children unattended near any source of water. Even following all of the rules, accidents happen. Even if they are acting ok after near drowning, please take them to the hospital. What if we had assumed he was ok and put him to bed? I don’t know how to stress this enough.

 

His PICU nurse asked us to please use our experience to spread awareness.

My son shocked everyone by bouncing back at record speed and is okay, but he is fortunate. Please spread awareness about how important it is to take water safety seriously, including after care for near drowning.

Spread awareness for the impacts of secondary drowning. Be alert that it’s effects can take up to 48 hours to show themselves. A child can suffer secondary drowning even if, like Ezra, they were under the water for just 30 seconds and in less than three centimetres of water.

For more:

Parents of 22-month-old boy who drowned in swimming pool while in temporary foster care demand answers.

Mother found guilty of drowning her baby as she did not fit into the ‘perfect family life’.

Drowning doesn’t always look like drowning.