A HEARTBROKEN mum whose son died suddenly has shared one of the last photos she had ever taken of him.
Little Levi passed away in June 2018 when the family were on holiday.
The three-year-old had been playing in the pool all day, but later that evening he was found in the water.
His mum is now sharing a photo of Levi, in a life jacket in the pool, smiling, in order to raise awareness of water safety for children.
Posting on the TinyHeartsEducation Instagram page the mum said: "One moment, he was sitting on the couch wearing khaki shorts, in a room filled with people. And the next, I found him in the pool."
She said she thought she had been doing 'everything right' when it came to water safety.
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"I have 16 photos of what would be my son’s final day of life, and 14 of those, he is wearing a life jacket or a puddle jumper.
"I did not understand that children aged 1 to 4 are at the highest risk of drowning and that they most often drown when they reach water during a time they are not supposed to be swimming", she said.
The mum said the family had been on holiday and that she never let her children out of her sight when they were around water.
The family had finished in the pool for the day and the mum said that Levi had surrounded by friends while they had been cleaning up after their dinner.
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She said: "He somehow managed to slip out of a room filled with people, out of heavy doors, down a flight of stairs and reach the water, all in just a moment.
"Even with six physicians on our trip, including my own anesthesiologist husband, Levi was unable to be saved.
"We later learned that a toddler can drown in as little as 30 seconds because they do not know to hold their breath, there is no struggle, and their heads cause them to be top-heavy near water."
After their horrible ordeal, the family is now raising awareness of water safety, and the mum said that drowning is preventable.
In the US, it's estimated that there are 3,960 fatal unintentional drownings each year – equating to 11 drowning deaths each day.
The Royal Life Saving Society in the UK say that 44 per cent of accidental drownings happen between May and August.
SELF RESCUE
The mum explained that all children, especially younger ones like Levi need to be taught how to self rescue and get to the surface to get air.
Kids who have been taught self rescue are given lessons on how to get out of danger in the pool.
This means they need to roll out their backs in the water to prevent drowning, some experts call this the 'float position'.
This method helps children relax and also keeps their mouth away from the water, which is crucial as it stops them from swallowing the water.
How to prevent drowning
There are some things you can do to help prevent your little one from drowning.
The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says that learning basic swimming and water safety skills is key and that formal swimming lessons with an instructor can reduce the risk of drowning.
Other tips include:
- Build fences that fully enclose pools
- Supervise closely
- Wear a life jacket
- Learn CPR
- Know the risks of natural waters
- Use the buddy system
The mum explained that parents should make sure there are barriers in place to prevent children reaching any type of water, such as pools, hot tubs, ponds and even ditches filled with rain water.
First aider Nikki Jurcutz, and CEO of TinyHearts said that the mum raised good points about safety outside of the water.
Posting to her Instagram story she said: "It's an absolutely heartbreaking story.
"The selflessness of mum to reach out to us and want to share her story to hep raise awareness so others don't have to go through that is so admirable.
"Drowning is a huge risk and it happens very quickly", she added.
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