I volunteered with a swim-a-thon this past Sunday. It was to raise money to help prevent drowning. $3000 was raised in collections and pledges.

Fatal drowning remains the second leading cause of injury-related death for children ages 1 - 14 years. For every child who dies from drowning, five more receive emergency care for nonfatal submersion injuries. More than half of these children are hospitalized. Nonfatal drownings can cause brain damage, resulting in long-term disabilities, ranging from memory problems and learning disabilities to permanent loss of basic brain functioning. 60% of all people that drown did not intend to be in the water!

Preventing drowning, near drowning, and other water related incidents needs to become a community affair. Promoting the importance of water safety is effective if communities band together and educate their residents.

Thanks for sharing that with us, Sundance. I almost drowned during swimming lessons when I was 5 or 6 I believe. And it was pretty scary. All I remember was bobbing up and down and trying to call out "Help!" then I would immediately go back into the water and then I remember seeing the kids who were watching the incident and then they pointing their fingers at me. Finally, my swimming teacher rescued me. I was scared to go back in, but after a day, I went right back inside that swimming pool.

I was not going to let that horrible moment affect me.

Edited March 11, 200817 yr by Noel