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actibus_consequatur t1_jdep6ab wrote

Reply to comment by bcjh in Bravery medals for women who raced into 'rough, crazy' surf to save drowning girls by Sariel007

Nearly the same except it was my oldest sister who was rescuing me... Right up until my panicking caused me to start choking her out, thus causing some random dude to help save both of us.

Also, my dad watched as I thought I was gonna drown in my neighborhood pool after my overconfident 6 year old ass jumped into the deep end. While he was probably slightly drunk, not much he could've done given he was disabled. When I climbed out of the pool, he just looked at me, smirked, and said "Bet you're not gonna try that again, huh?"

ETA: Should've pointed out, the reason he was smirking is because he realized I (probably) be all right for the same reason I figured out a couple weeks later: I was over 4' tall while the pool was only 5' deep, so I could stand flat footed in the deep end and have most my forearm above water. Dad saw in my panic was bouncing to safety.

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Thatbluejacket t1_jdg8j3c wrote

I almost died one time in a similar circumstance as your second story.

I must have been like 4 or something, and we were hanging out at my mom's friend's pool. Her daughter was probably around 12 or 13, standing in the water and catching me when I jumped in - there was no deep end, but it was still over my head. After a bit she decided to get out, but I still wanted to swim so I jumped again and immediately started sinking.

I remember thrashing around a lot, but quickly realized it didn't matter. My mom and her friend were sitting on the deck chatting and didn't see me jump I guess - in reality it was probably less than 10 seconds til my mom noticed I was missing, but it felt way longer. Right as I'd literally accepted I was about to die, I saw the shadow of my mom stand up very suddenly and jump into the water. She must have pulled me out of the pool, but that's what I remember most vividly - a snapshot of her shadow against the sun, seen through the surface of the water.

I'm extremely lucky my mom was always so vigilant - lots of children die every year from drowning in pools while literally surrounded by adults. My sister and I started taking swim lessons right after that incident. Sorry to ramble, I'm a bit high and you just reminded me

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actibus_consequatur t1_jdgkil3 wrote

Well that's a terrible way to get it, that sounds like a pretty awesome mental picture to have.

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chahoua t1_jdhczb3 wrote

I've heard so many stories like this that whenever I'm at a party or event where there's water and very young kids involved I can't take my eyes off the kids for more than a few seconds.

Having a kid die like that where you could have easily saved the child if you paid enough attention would be something I'd have a hard time recovering from.

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