2-year-old almost dies of secondary drowning hours after inhaling pool water
Summer has arrived and, with it, comes a lot of dangerous situations, especially involving small children. The Sun is out, the weather is almost too hot to handle, and so everyone has one thing on their minds: going swimming. Swimming is a fun activity and an excellent source of exercise, but it's not all fun and games. One father from Colorado, USA, had the scare of his life when he and his wife had to rush their son to the emergency room. Turns, out, he almost died from secondary drowning.
via The Independent
Garon Vega shared his story on social media about how he and his wife almost lost their son, Gio, due to secondary drowning. The whole incident began when Garon took Gio swimming. Everything was fine when they were at the pool, but once the two returned home, he noticed that Gio didn't look so good. In fact, the poor little guy was running a fever and, besides coughing, he complained of having a really bad headache.
Worried that his symptoms might be connected to their day at the swimming pool, Garon immediately started searching the internet for answers. He immediately got a heavy feeling in his stomach when he came across the tragic story of Frankie Delgado, a 4-year-old boy from Houston, Texas, who died during Memorial Day weekend. Frankie accidently inhaled pool water and, by the time the family realized what had happened, it was already too late to save little Frankie's life.
The medical staff assigned to Frankie's case stated that he most likely died of secondary drowning, which is when a person inhales water and it remains trapped inside their lungs for several hours. It can take up to 24 hours before the person starts showing symptoms, and they aren't always so obvious (i.e. coughing, headache, fever). Secondary drowning can happen in any kind of water, including bath water. Although cases happen in adults, children are the most likely victims.
Once Garon read about Frankie's unfortunate death, he rushed Gio immediately to the emergency room, where medical staff confirmed that he was experiencing symptoms of secondary drowning. Garon stated, "The x-rays showed that he [Gio] had a considerable amount of water in his lungs, and it was a good thing that we brought him immediately to the hospital when we we did. If we hadn't, he wouldn't have made it".
Gio is lucky to have an attentive and caring father like Garon. We commend Garon for his quick response and also for sharing his story on social media. If we raise more awareness about secondary drowning, perhaps we can stop other children from dying. Way to go, Garon!
