“Just days before you died, you said to me, ‘We are so blessed.’ My perfect love, my angel. Yes, we were. In the cruelest twist of fate imaginable, we never got to embrace and celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives together. I will carry the love we shared with me forever. I will find you and marry you in the next lifetime, and the next, and the next, and the next.”
‘Will you be my wife?’ You never emerged from the water to hear my answer. ‘Yes! A million times, yes!’: Man tragically drowns while proposing, ‘please love each other hard, while you can’
‘He looks like he’s sleeping, he looks peaceful.’ The police officer told us the divers found a boy’s body.’: Sister recalls baby brother’s tragic drowning, urges ‘you can never be prepared in this situation’
“We began frantically looking in the houseboat, in cupboards, under beds. I called out his name, begging him to stop playing games, hoping he was just playing hide ‘n’ seek. Looking over the river, it was so calm, but you couldn’t see a thing under the surface – it was just too murky. My mom came to the realization that my father needed to be called, to be told his son is missing. ‘It’s going to be okay; we are going to be okay,’ my mom repeated, trying to put on a brave face.”
‘I only bought 2 backpacks instead of 3. I naively thought I was ready. But grief proved me wrong.’: Mom feels ‘paralyzed’ while back-to-school shopping after losing son to drowning accident
“I let down my guard, slammed with the sudden realization he is gone. My daughters stood on the edge of the balcony and watched as the world ended, watched as their parents begged to trade places with their little brother. He slipped away from us, down a spiral staircase, and fell into the pool.”
‘Get him out! That’s Adam!’ He slipped off the ledge and tried to yell ‘Mommy!’: Mother shares ‘nightmare’ of 5-year-old son’s near-drowning in pool full of adults as warning for parents
“I watched as water and vomit poured out of his mouth, eyes swollen and rubbery looking. Then a miracle happened! He showed sign of life. ‘There he is!’ My baby was still with me! This was 100% preventable. This happened in a pool full of people. A pool full of ADULTS.”
‘I’m so sorry. He fell into the swimming pool.’ He was found with a blanket he would put over his head, and his little bicycle.’: Mom’s heartbreaking plea to use pool nets because ‘freak accidents happen’
“My car keys had been stolen, and while waiting for assistance, my mom was watching my 2-year-old son at our home. As we loaded our luggage into our car, my phone rang. It was my mom, weeping. My heart sank – I immediately knew Kaeden was harmed.”
‘I quickly read it, a tribute to ‘Trenton.’ He was 21 when he died, just a week ago. I instinctively asked her what happened. He had drowned. My heart broke for this woman.’
“In the middle of our conversation, a woman walked up and stood before us. She had tears in her eyes. She simply asked for a favor. ‘We have to leave, and I was wondering if you guys could launch ours for us.’ She didn’t say why she chose us.”
‘It was my daughter’s birthday. I was sitting, my feet in the river. I heard a yell. ‘She’s in the water!’ I turned. She was completely under water, face down. Pure panic went through my mind.’
“Rylee wanted to get closer to the other kids and went forward on the step more than she should have and slipped in. She was completely engulfed. I could see about half an inch of the top of her head. Without hesitation, I dove in after her. The current was taking her away rapidly. I could barely keep my head above water.”
‘Are you mom?’ I nodded, ‘Yes.’ He ran along the canal for a mile. He saw the farmer pulling her out of the water. Our sweet girl had bumped into this farmer’s leg.’
“With 10 adults and 5 kids present, anyone would assume our daughter would have been safe. But after unexpected guests rang the doorbell, a bag of popcorn started on fire, and multiple kids ran outside, it only took seconds for Preslee to slip past everyone into the canal.”
‘The water began to freeze and searching seized. A fisherman drilled his hole, dropped his camera, and landed on a foot – my husband’s foot. Andy was finally found.’
“I was married to my college sweetheart. We had 2.5 children, a beautiful home, even a white picket fence in the backyard. Unfortunately, that chapter of my story would come to an abrupt end.”
‘Quietly, silently, quickly. My daughter almost drowned. We were all there and none of us saw her slip under the water, but it still happened.’
“My heart hurts. I feel ashamed and guilty that my daughter was fighting for her life underwater, drowning, and I didn’t even see it.”
