tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post7377863494539344518..comments2024-03-18T09:09:59.625-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: This stunned meJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-34466327246384802092012-06-19T12:58:54.385-04:002012-06-19T12:58:54.385-04:00Mario is a friend of mine, so when I say this I la...Mario is a friend of mine, so when I say this I laughed. He always had a way of getting people's attention. Its a great article from a good man who has served in the Coast Guard saving people's lives as a rescue swimmer for more years than its polite to mention. He knows whereof he speaks.J E Cousineauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870576332843616643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-55528650258251763192010-07-14T18:30:37.338-04:002010-07-14T18:30:37.338-04:00As a parent of six... THANKS. I caught this post v...As a parent of six... THANKS. I caught this post via twitter, as my google reader has been messed up, and I now follow gcaptian. Lot's of good posts.<br /><br />So, I got myself educated and a new blog to follow. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-88909818575019175152010-07-09T02:49:18.575-04:002010-07-09T02:49:18.575-04:00Thanks so much for posting this.
I never knew the...Thanks so much for posting this.<br /><br />I never knew the signs, and yet I've been there - it was only because I was swimming towards my brother to an island, with him watching me, that he yelled, "Do you need help?" And I couldn't answer. It felt like a huge soggy mattress on me, and more people sitting on it every second. He yelled again and then came for me.<br /><br />I haven't gone swimming over my head since, and that was twenty-five years ago.Steve MChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15026970188928733645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-71149535245791172332010-07-08T23:30:52.690-04:002010-07-08T23:30:52.690-04:00Drowning is a terrifying way to die.Drowning is a terrifying way to die.Robert Deanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14911722299620705281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-34349207290049696402010-07-08T22:33:47.869-04:002010-07-08T22:33:47.869-04:00I must say thank you for posting this. My three ye...I must say thank you for posting this. My three year old waded out too deep in the pool yesterday. I got to him in seconds before he got scared, but he looked exactly like what they described. If I hadn't read this article this week, it would have been an entirely different experience for him. No screaming, just bobbing up and down with his arms stretched out.<br /><br />So thanks.Mimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08685941102691667990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-25886231366071083312010-07-08T08:14:49.432-04:002010-07-08T08:14:49.432-04:00I took a lifeguard training course and worked as a...I took a lifeguard training course and worked as a lifeguard for a number of summers (high school to college years), and this was *never explained to me*. I figured it out only after a girl in my pool got in trouble in the deep end... and the only reason I was aware enough to help was that her parents had TOLD ME that she couldn't swim and needed to stay in the shallow end. She didn't look like she was in trouble at all, but she had slid down the pool's incline into the wrong area, so I investigated purely because I didn't want to get in trouble with her parents for letting her stay there. TERRIFYING to realize she was in real danger.<br /><br />And then just last week I had a very scary experience and sure enough, people who were watching me just thought I was goofing around, holding my daughter over my head. In fact, I'd been swimming with my daughter in the deep end, we got hit by a wave when someone big cannonballed into the pool near us, and I was desperately trying to keep HER head above water, at the expense of my own, as long as possible. Cannonball guy fortunately finally grabbed my girl so I could let myself sink enough to reach bottom and push back up to surface level and the nearby shallow end.CKHBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17741681893677604323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-65000708729974017242010-07-07T17:17:45.373-04:002010-07-07T17:17:45.373-04:00Like Jon VanZile, I nearly drowned at the age of o...Like Jon VanZile, I nearly drowned at the age of one, lying quietly in a pool only one foot deep. <br /><br />I learned something and will remember it as much children charge into summer and swimming.Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-9490127487253525672010-07-07T10:21:15.341-04:002010-07-07T10:21:15.341-04:00I very nearly drowned when I was a child ... it...I very nearly drowned when I was a child ... it's actually one of my first memories. I was on the side of the pool, kneeling over and trying to reach the bottom of a 10-foot-deep pool with a 3-foot stick when I slipped in. <br /><br />I've described the event countless times over the years, but until I read this article, I had literally no idea that what I was describing was a typical reaction to drowning. I always thought my experience was strange, or atypical, because I didn't thrash or make any noise at all. I didn't struggle or kick. I just struggled weakly and sunk. <br /><br />I remember the first breath I took underwater. It was reflexive, and it burned. I don't remember anything after that, but apparently my brother—who was less than 20 feet away when I went into the pool—turned around and saw me at the bottom. He jumped in and pulled me out, then pushed the water from my lungs. I was probably a minute away, or less, from brain damage or death. <br /><br />Thanks so much for posting this.Jon VanZilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14026643422328853037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-64495130342612636592010-07-07T04:30:54.169-04:002010-07-07T04:30:54.169-04:00Wow, living on an island and just starting to have...Wow, living on an island and just starting to have my son learn to swim, this hit me hard. Thanks for posting this. I'm sending to all the parents I know...NINA NAKAYAMAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13933237904372832732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-3912976516137462222010-07-06T23:46:54.548-04:002010-07-06T23:46:54.548-04:00Once I had to pull my son above the water's su...Once I had to pull my son above the water's surface. He was on tiptoe right beside my husband. His mouth and nose were underwater and his eyes were wide and frightened. I was across the pool with my other son. My husband was very surprised and denied my son was drowning. Good thing once a lifeguard, always a lifeguard.Laurie Lambhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16363512651725751903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-45190135765400712012010-07-06T23:32:27.122-04:002010-07-06T23:32:27.122-04:00This is so true. I almost drowned when I was littl...This is so true. I almost drowned when I was little and didn't know how to swim yet -- twice. The first time was in the ocean and luckily someone saved me. The second time was in the swimming pool with fully functional lifeguards around and no one noticed. I was, ironically, learning how to swim as well. They thought I was just bobbing up and down inside the water.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-62621920657713332282010-07-06T22:29:12.682-04:002010-07-06T22:29:12.682-04:00That's some incredibly scary yet valuable info...That's some incredibly scary yet valuable information. I've got a little boy, who I hope never has to experience a near drowning incident let alone anything worse, but I will be passing this information along to increase the odds that there will people around him to recognize the real signs in case he does. <br /><br />And if I ever write a drowning scene in a story, I'll be sure to describe it accurately.Jaleh Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04942272578488986874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-32337773309397261072010-07-06T20:31:50.541-04:002010-07-06T20:31:50.541-04:00Another thing to remember: it happens in water kid...Another thing to remember: it happens in water kids can STAND in. When I was a lifeguard, every kid but one was drowning in shallow water they could stand in, but didn't know it.Spy Scribblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14299551957327543491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-36185688983416196252010-07-06T18:11:14.857-04:002010-07-06T18:11:14.857-04:00I'm still astonished by this. Thanks for flagg...I'm still astonished by this. Thanks for flagging it.<br /><br />It's frightening to think that someone who's drowning can respond quietly and passively. (A. Grey, 2:02 PM, illustrates the danger of this lack of drama perfectly.)<br /><br />These lines are from the end of the article: <i>And parents: children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why</i>. <br /><br />They should be put up on a big sign everywhere people swim.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08214880215621020928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-59458703974365363422010-07-06T15:34:57.796-04:002010-07-06T15:34:57.796-04:00Yikes! Great article.
As Clint Eastwood says in M...Yikes! Great article.<br /><br />As Clint Eastwood says in Magnum Force, "A man's got to know his limitations.DGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08921178003469219476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4538872931970786372010-07-06T09:40:18.365-04:002010-07-06T09:40:18.365-04:00wow, I too have been in/around water my whole life...wow, I too have been in/around water my whole life, this is a good reality check.Red Boot Pearlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015990875361952510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-30870591229954551782010-07-06T08:05:21.553-04:002010-07-06T08:05:21.553-04:00That piece was chilling. I find it incredible that...That piece was chilling. I find it incredible that we didn't know about this before.<br /><br />I wonder: In evolutionary terms, we've only been back in the water for a nanosecond. Maybe there simply hasn't been enough time for the evolution of a survival response to drowning. <br /><br />Just compare the (uniquely quiet?) drowning response to, say, getting a piece of chicken bone stuck in your throat. You'd go ballistic trying to clear your airways.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08214880215621020928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-27671963597632753032010-07-06T05:29:53.274-04:002010-07-06T05:29:53.274-04:00Shocking, chilling and vitally important. I'm ...Shocking, chilling and vitally important. I'm going to repost.<br /><br />Thank you so much for this.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794791220323089387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-14880564652044754492010-07-06T03:08:01.331-04:002010-07-06T03:08:01.331-04:00Thank you so much, Janet! I'm on the swim team...Thank you so much, Janet! I'm on the swim team myself and I didn't know this! At least, not to this extent.Biancahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04596088219665594497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-10777240659313651862010-07-05T23:29:59.455-04:002010-07-05T23:29:59.455-04:00This brought back a strange memory of mine. I was ...This brought back a strange memory of mine. I was around five years old and was at the beach. I remember the water pulling me out and I knew I was in trouble, because I couldn't move. I remember just watching the shore where my mother was, my eyes near the surface of the water, feeling powerless, unable to call for help or do anything. <br /><br />But my mom must have noticed something was off cause he walked over and picked me out of the water (whenever I think back, I keep thinking how lame that was since the water couldn't have been higher than her thighs). <br /><br />I never understood why I felt like that -- unable to move -- but I think this finally explains it.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing!Amber J. Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08022993487192258220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-27476972645407475882010-07-05T22:45:30.129-04:002010-07-05T22:45:30.129-04:00One important thing that was left out of this arti...One important thing that was left out of this article is that unless you are trained in how to rescue a drowning person, chances are quite high that they'll be pulling two bodies out of the water, not just one.<br /><br />Please get CPR training and remember "Reach, Throw, Row, Go".Touch of Inkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13551995840395409781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-76525352599693410792010-07-05T21:32:21.713-04:002010-07-05T21:32:21.713-04:00I just passed the link on to family and friends. ...I just passed the link on to family and friends. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention.Cathy in AKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08667978358875270260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-5421542446528808922010-07-05T21:32:21.714-04:002010-07-05T21:32:21.714-04:00a great eye-opener... thx janet
am passing this o...a great eye-opener... thx janet<br /><br />am passing this onlaughingwolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08873675614347328116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-71120092533588730972010-07-05T21:15:49.017-04:002010-07-05T21:15:49.017-04:00A. Toddler was supposed to sit on pool deck while ...A. Toddler was supposed to sit on pool deck while I helped 3 yr old learn to swim. I turned and he was gone. I panicked and couldn't only scream oh and point as I drug 3 yr old through water to spot where toddler was at bottom of pool. Lifeguard not 10 ft between us just stared wondering why I was screaming OH! We were the only people at the pool. My son lived (my daughter too since I didn't let go of her). You don't have to be drowning to be speechless.Spiced Apple Eyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421630823448644286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-40894441214210100072010-07-05T21:00:25.967-04:002010-07-05T21:00:25.967-04:00Thanks for signal-boosting that excellent article!...Thanks for signal-boosting that excellent article! It is such a clear presentation of vitally important information.JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13974691019739092440noreply@blogger.com