Drownings
There are 1400 deaths from drowning each year in the United States, and for ever death, there are four "near drownings," one quarter of which end up with moderate to severe permenant brain injury. At Grand Rounds today, the speaker told us that a collegue of his lost her toddler grandson when he stumbled and his head landed in the dog's water bucket and he couldn't get out.
Drownings are more frequent in the states that are on the ocean, and Minnisota, which has so many lakes. That means here. That also means where I grew up. It also means Arizona. Drowning kills more children in the under five age range than moter vehicle collisions.
When I was younger we had very good friends who managed a large ranch just up the creek from us. Their yard was beautiful. And one of the irrigation ditches ran right behind the lovinly tended garden. I knew the two younger siblings, both of whom were older than me by at least a few years. I used to ride with M., the oldest all the time. I remember my mom telling me, though that she wasn't really the oldest, that she'd had an older brother who had drowned in the ditch behind their house when he was about three years old. I never knew him, niether did his unborn brother and sister.
The lecturer talked about what happens as someone drowns. First you try to hold your breath and you make it for about 90 seconds until your carbon dioxide gets so high that it forces your brain to try to breath...and you try, but you can't. You don't inhale water, though, because your vocal cords spasm when it hits. Only about 5 ml/kg make it in. It's not the water per se that ends up killing you. It the lack of oxygen and the subsequent stopping of your heart.
My brother's girlfriend had an other brother that she never knew either. They used to live out on a big ranch in the foothills. Very far away from everything, including medical care. There was a big reservoir out there. And the oldest son didn't know how to swim well enough. And they couldn't make it into town fast enough to get him help. He died as they were trying.
The mom has never been the same since. I think she still grieves his loss. And still fears the loss of her other children, despite the fact that they are all grown.
CPR can be life saving in a near drowning. I don't know if they knew how to do it, but even mimicking what you see on TV is better than nothing. In kids it is five compressions, two breaths, repeat. And do it right away, don't leave them to get help, start now. Even if they throw up and it seems disgusting, five compressions, two breaths, repeat over and over.
This past December, my roommates nephew drowned in their pool in Arizona. He was a cute little guys. And she was very attached to him. She is still in mourning from his loss. She has pictures of him up all over the house. And she keeps some of his ashes in a locket in her room. The loss of a young healthy child is heartbreaking. Her father lost his mind over it. Her sister, the mother, still seems grief stricken. Many marriages cannot survive the death of a child. Perhaps families sometimes cannot either.
Cover your pools, watch your kids around water every second, swim only where there are life guards. It never hurts to have an extra guard for your life...of the life of one who you love.
Drownings are more frequent in the states that are on the ocean, and Minnisota, which has so many lakes. That means here. That also means where I grew up. It also means Arizona. Drowning kills more children in the under five age range than moter vehicle collisions.
When I was younger we had very good friends who managed a large ranch just up the creek from us. Their yard was beautiful. And one of the irrigation ditches ran right behind the lovinly tended garden. I knew the two younger siblings, both of whom were older than me by at least a few years. I used to ride with M., the oldest all the time. I remember my mom telling me, though that she wasn't really the oldest, that she'd had an older brother who had drowned in the ditch behind their house when he was about three years old. I never knew him, niether did his unborn brother and sister.
The lecturer talked about what happens as someone drowns. First you try to hold your breath and you make it for about 90 seconds until your carbon dioxide gets so high that it forces your brain to try to breath...and you try, but you can't. You don't inhale water, though, because your vocal cords spasm when it hits. Only about 5 ml/kg make it in. It's not the water per se that ends up killing you. It the lack of oxygen and the subsequent stopping of your heart.
My brother's girlfriend had an other brother that she never knew either. They used to live out on a big ranch in the foothills. Very far away from everything, including medical care. There was a big reservoir out there. And the oldest son didn't know how to swim well enough. And they couldn't make it into town fast enough to get him help. He died as they were trying.
The mom has never been the same since. I think she still grieves his loss. And still fears the loss of her other children, despite the fact that they are all grown.
CPR can be life saving in a near drowning. I don't know if they knew how to do it, but even mimicking what you see on TV is better than nothing. In kids it is five compressions, two breaths, repeat. And do it right away, don't leave them to get help, start now. Even if they throw up and it seems disgusting, five compressions, two breaths, repeat over and over.
This past December, my roommates nephew drowned in their pool in Arizona. He was a cute little guys. And she was very attached to him. She is still in mourning from his loss. She has pictures of him up all over the house. And she keeps some of his ashes in a locket in her room. The loss of a young healthy child is heartbreaking. Her father lost his mind over it. Her sister, the mother, still seems grief stricken. Many marriages cannot survive the death of a child. Perhaps families sometimes cannot either.
Cover your pools, watch your kids around water every second, swim only where there are life guards. It never hurts to have an extra guard for your life...of the life of one who you love.
posted by S. at 7:26 PM
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