Dry Drowning

Yesterday we had a little scare. My cousin, Kari, was pulling Zaya on a boogie board at Ala Moana beach. No waves, very calm, beautiful day. Well, Zaya has been getting braver and trying to swim more by herself since she started taking swimming lessons. Since Zaya is 3 1/2 years old, her story of what happened changes. I think she decided to jump off the board and swim to Kari in front of her. Kari didn't know that Zaya had let go of the board. Kari said she heard Zaya calling her and turned to find Zaya under water.

At the same time, the nearest lifeguard just picked up his binoculars and saw little hands waving above the water with no one around. His heart stopped when he saw only Zaya's tiny hands. He ran down the beach and swam out to her. Luckily Kari had already gotten to Zaya, decreasing the time she was underwater from the time the lifeguard had spotted her. Not knowing how long she was under or if she had taken any water into her tiny lungs he suggested getting her checked by the paramedics, which is free.

Zaya just cried and cried because being underwater for a while is a very scary thing. I asked Zaya if she drank any water. She said, "No." Knowing that she knows how to hold her breath underwater for a while I wasn't too worried. So I refused the opportunity to get her checked.

Then Zaya let out a huge "BURP!" I asked her again if she drank any water and she said "yes." Remembering a video I got through an email (Dry Drowning: 10 Year Old Boy Dies 1 Hour After Swimming). I decided to have them check her since it was free. I wasn't very worried but I knew that I'd have NO worries if someone professionally checked her.

In a few minutes we heard the ambulance coming to see us. They asked questions, listened to her lungs, checked her skin color, and her eyes. They said she looked good. They also said another good sign was that fact that when she came up, she quickly started crying. All good news. I then signed their computer to say that I had chosen not to go with them. I had nothing to worry about, my baby was fine. Better safe than sorry

REMEMBER: It doesn't cost anything to have the ambulance come and check you out. It only cost big bucks as soon as you get in the ambulance and drive away. So if you want extra precaution without having to deal with the emergency room for small things, have the paramedics check for you and if they say you need to get to the hospital, you can choose to drive yourself. It never hurts to check.