Summer is a great time of the year. Think warm sun, cool dips in the pool, fun times at the beach. Most importantly, though, don’t forget to think safety – especially pool safety.
In summer, more than at any other time of the year, it’s so important to be extra vigilant around the water, especially if you have children.
It means thinking ahead about what can possibly go wrong, not becoming distracted if you are supervising your children while they are swimming and never letting your guard down.
It also means putting your pool safety net back on the pool once you have finished swimming.
If you ever needed any reminding about how quickly a child can get into trouble in the water, you need to look no further than the story of young Abongile Ndlovu.
One of the lucky few
In June this year, the young seven-year-old from Pietermaritzburg was rescued by lifesavers from the bottom of a swimming pool on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. She had no pulse when she was pulled from the pool.
Luckily, she received immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the scene from the lifesavers and an off-duty doctor and was able to make a full recovery before being released from the hospital two weeks later.
Speaking about the young girl’s miraculous recovery Dr Bianca Visser, an emergency medicine practitioner at Umhlanga Hospital, spoke of the importance of parents and childminders learning the basic principles of CPR.
“The fact that Abongile received CPR from the time when she was first taken from the pool by lifesavers and was then able to receive outstanding care from the Netcare 911 advanced life support paramedics at the poolside, made all the difference,” said Gary Paul, one of the paramedics who attended to Abongile at the scene.
“Abongile had no pulse when she was brought out of the pool; we all got such a shock when we heard about it. We really thought we would lose our precious, only daughter,” said her relieved father, Isaiah Ndlovu.
Not all stories have a happy ending
Earlier this year we wrote about the untimely drowning of a five-year-old child in a swimming pool in a Durban North home and a toddler in the United States, also at a residential home.
These tragic stories bring into sharp relief the importance of securing your pool and pool area – and, most importantly, of adult supervision of young children around water.
At this time of the year, we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to supervising our children around the pool. Because not all stories will have a happy ending.
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