These were the sentiments of one Australian mum this weekend, as she shared her three-year-old son’s frightening story.
Darcey McQueeney released a photo of her young son Ezra this weekend, the tot lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines. She went on to reveal that he was in this condition after falling victim to “secondary drowning” or ‘dry-drowning' – where children ingest water and ‘drown’, even hours after being near a pool.
Sharing a chilling message, Darcey wrote: “[Ezra] only went under [water] for less than thirty seconds. He was being watched by two sober, conscientious adults who were both less than 10 feet away in a gated pool…However, that small blip of time was all it took for him to inhale water.”
Explaining how the water caused him to develop a fever and become unresponsive (due to a possible seizure), Darcey revealed that Ezra was left unresponsive in a hospital bed after the experience.
The most disconcerting thing about this awful situation, however, is that Ezra appeared perfectly fine after his time in the pool. Indeed, it was hours later that he began to go “downhill”.
Issuing a warning for parents everywhere to be vigilant, Darcey added: “Water safety should be a top priority for everyone. Do not ever leave children unattended near any source of water…Even if they are acting ok after near drowning, please take them to the hospital.”
Thankfully, in the latest update to the story, it has been revealed that Ezra was discharged from hospital and is now recuperating at home.
Darcey’s experience should serve as a lesson to each and every parent out there – you can never be too careful when it comes to water safety.
