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bsloss t1_iweynl9 wrote

Reply to comment by churninbutter in TIL about Deaf lifeguard Leroy Colombo, who overcame childhood paralysis through swimming and saved a record-breaking 900+ lives during his career. His swimming talent and use of sight rather than sound to identify drowning swimmers allowed him to save people other lifeguards would have missed. by lemontreelemur

You shouldn’t feel bad about that… the space directly under a lifeguard stand is usually considered to be a “blind spot” for the lifeguard stationed there. Lifeguards working in teams are supposed to be trained to scan their areas as well as the spaces directly below their fellow lifeguards.

It’s one of those things that seem silly in theory, but in practice can be absolutely vital (as it seems you found out!).

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churninbutter t1_iwezp39 wrote

I do appreciate you saying that, cause even though it’s been like a decade it’s always kinda stuck with me as like a “woah” moment. Really drove home just how silent drowning is

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boricimo t1_iwfjwzx wrote

Did the person make even a splashing noise?

Edit: just read other comments about what real drowning looks like and makes sense why zero noise.

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churninbutter t1_iwfkbzq wrote

No, it was like he couldn’t get his hands above the water. Like take every image you’ve ever had about someone drowning and throw it away. It was nuts how quiet it was. Hypothetically if he was the only one in the pool and the same situation happened if you were facing the other way you would have no idea something was wrong

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Levlove t1_iwj59vf wrote

My 6 year old stepped off the bottom step in a pool while I was turned the other way saying something to my grandmother. He made absolutely no noise at all and I only realized he was drowning because I turned around to check and make sure he was still within arm’s reach (you know, so he wouldn’t drown). It’s happens SO fast and it’s so quiet. Now I won’t even swim with my younger kids unless there is a 1:1 adult to kid ratio, even if there are lifeguards, and we don’t take our eyes off them.

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Levlove t1_iwj5ss8 wrote

My 6 year old stepped off the bottom step in a pool while I was turned the other way saying something to my grandmother. He made absolutely no noise at all and I only realized he was drowning because I turned around to check and make sure he was still within arm’s reach (you know, so he wouldn’t drown). It’s happens SO fast and it’s so quiet. Now I won’t even swim with my younger kids unless there is a 1:1 adult to kid ratio, even if there are lifeguards, and we don’t take our eyes off them.

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