The CDC reports that from 2005-2009, there were an average of 3,533 fatal unintentional drownings (non-boating related) annually in the United States — about ten deaths per day. Swimming is a summertime activity that many people enjoy. Swimming can be very relaxing, therapeutic, and entirely enjoyable. Sometimes though, there are terrible mishaps involved with swimming. Maybe someone slips and bursts open their head; maybe someone accidentally inhales water into their lungs. Quite possibly, for my case, someone made a stupid mistake.
I will never forget the horrid day that I made the gargantuan mistake that, to this day, has scarred me permanently. On a warm summer’s day of 2010, I was eleven years old. The weather was all sunshine, no clouds in sight. All that could be heard was the sound of chirping birds, the occasional rustling of the wind, and the sound of my dad mowing the lawn. He was obsessed with mowing the lawn, still is quite frankly. Back to me, I just thought it was the perfect day to swim in our pool. The pool was cool, relaxing, and fun. At the time, we had a pool that was four feet, six inches deep.
Not a very deep pool, but deep enough for an eleven year old. Swimming was my favorite summer pastime. I loved being surrounded by water; feeling as if maybe, just maybe, I was living in some other world. Swimming was an escape. Garrett, my little brother, and I always wanted to be fish-like creatures. We would hide under the pool slide, pretending that it was our sanctuary; I loved doing that. One day we decided that we were going to build an obstacle course in the pool, something to test our swimming capabilities. We initially started off swimming from one end of the pool to the other.
The person that went the fastest got to choose the next obstacle. I won, of course. At three years older, I was bigger, faster, and stronger than Garrett. I decided that we needed to swim under the pool cover. The pool cover was a translucent, blue, solar cover. We used the cover to heat our pool efficiently. The cover was just pulled back to the side of the pool because we took it off while we were swimming. We hauled a big section of the cover into the pool and submerged it partially in the water, allowing a portion of it to float. We started swimming under it.
Swimming under the cover seemed to be simple. I would push myself off the pool wall, swim under very quickly, and be on my way. Garrett also seemed to be able to swim under with no problem. I thought to myself, as a young boy would, I cannot let my eight-year-old little brother show me up at swimming, At this point, I noticed that my dad had finished mowing the lawn. Realizing that here was an opportunity to perform for a more appropriate audience, I pulled the pool cover in even more. I told him to come over and watch what we were able to do.
He sped and started over to watch me swim under the pool cover. Only because I knew my dad was going to be watching, I pulled even more of the pool cover in the pool. As dad approached the pool wall, I hurriedly jumped into the water. As I made my way under the cover, I realized that I did not take a deep enough breath. I had also forgotten that I had pulled the cover further into the water. Because I had forgotten, I assumed that I had swum all the way under the cover and could raise out of the water. I shot up like a bullet, still completely under the cover.
I. Could. Not. Breathe. The cover suctioned to my face. Thad always wanted to be a fish. I tried to gasp for air, hoping that somehow, I could catch a breath. Now I felt like a fish, but a fish out of water. My mind was frozen on the thought that I was going to die. At the same time, I was jumping around like a fish in a plastic bag, trying to find a way out. I went back under water hoping the cover would come off, but it did not. My heart was beating out of my chest. I jumped back up screaming, but at this point all that could be heard was a low, soundless, gasp.
At the exact moment that I was ready to give up, my dad pulled the cover off of me. Instantly, I was relieved. Still anxious, terrified, and mentally dead, I had yet came to the full realization that I was not going to die. I literally jumped out of the pool and into my dad’s arms. He was wearing his K-9 Training t-shirt. The shirt was a navy blue. He smelled like his cologne that he wears. At that moment I realized, he had been putting all of his effort into getting the cover off all this time. Then and there, wrapped in his strong arms, I knew that I was safe.
I had survived. I was not going to die. I broke into a sobbing cry, terrified of the experience that had just overwhelmed me. My heart ached. My body trembled. My soul was shattered. Still though, I made it! What seemed to be a simple, fun day in the pool took a turn for the worst. My dad is honestly my hero. If he had not been there that day, I would not be here today. Someone can never be too careful when swimming. To this day, I can count the number of times that I have swum since that warm, sunny, July day. Never take chances in water.
