TAMPA, Fla. — Water -- it's what makes living in Tampa Bay so amazing. From sparkling pools to expansive white sand beaches to the mangrove-lined rivers, there is so much to do both on and in the water.
The beauty does have some danger, though.
Florida tops the list of states with the most unintentional drownings. Many happen during the first two months of summer, May and June. Hillsborough County has the 3rd highest drowning rate in the state.
One family knows this well. The Gonzales family shared their story of a near-drowning with 10 Tampa Bay. The family was at their community pool with all of their children. When James Gonzales turned away from his 4-year-old son, Caiden, for 20 seconds to handle a situation between two other siblings, Caiden wandered away from his seat and ended up at the bottom of the 3-foot deep section of the pool.
Gonzales was able to dive in, pull him out and perform CPR. Mom, Marianne, says safety was already a priority at the pool but the incident happened so quickly and so quietly, changing the way they thought about drowning incidents.
"It's not like the movies, it's silent. There's no screaming or splashing," she said.
"When he came to, he said 'Dad, Dad! I was calling for you but you couldn't hear me.' I lost it and I was crying and holding him there on the pool deck. What struck me the most was how quickly it happened," Gonzales said.
The Gonzales family now shares their story so other families understand how quickly a drowning can happen.
"It doesn't mean you're a bad parent. You can be doing everything right and have safety protocols in place but you can have just one momentary lapse in attention and it happens in an instant," James said.
Michelle Sterling, a children's safety and wellness specialist at BayCare, offers some tips to make sure your kids are safe near water:
- Enroll your children in swim lessons as soon as possible.
- Put U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation devices on your children. The devices do not act as a replacement for the ability to swim, so make sure these are combined with basic swim skills.
- Make sure there is a designated "water watcher" at all times when your kids are near water. They should not be distracted by music or other conversations. You can rotate on 15-minute shifts so attention does not waver.
- Make sure children are wearing brightly colored swimwear, avoid dark colors or blue. Pools are often tinted blue so bright colors make your children easier to spot quickly.
- Empty tubs, buckets, planters and kids' pools immediately because children can drown in as little as one inch of water.
- Install fences and door alarms to home pools and doors that lead to home pool areas so you can hear if someone has gained access to those areas.
- Learn CPR and basic water rescue skills. Every moment counts, so any emergency care you can take can save a child's life.
St. Joseph's Children's Hospital has a "Safety Store" inside the hospital that offers safety devices at a discounted rate.
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