Dr. Lewis First, Chief of Pediatrics at Vermont Children's explains how to protect children from SWB.
Click here to view this informative report.
Young Boy Rescues SWB Victim During Swim Practice
as told by Heather Furlong
On March 11th 2014, I stepped onto the pool deck ready for another grueling swim practice. My closest friend, Shannan Maher, got into a swim lane across the pool from me and we both started our warmup. We were just starting the main set of the evening when my friend decided to hide from the coaches’ view, and skip out on the set. She repeatedly jumped from the bottom of the pool taking a breath each time she came up to the surface, and eventually she stayed on the bottom of the pool. During this time, it is not known exactly when, she passed out due to never having the urge to breathe.
My younger brother, who was eleven years old and barely eighty pounds at the time, swam over her twice, believing she was playing and deliberately hiding. After about two minutes, he swam down to the bottom and tickled her feet trying to get her to swim up to the surface and continue the practice. When she did not respond to any type of stimuli, he grabbed her limp body and pulled her to the surface screaming for someone to help her. The coaches pulled her out of the water and on to the pool deck, where she laid lifeless and barely breathing on her own.
My mom, who is a former nurse, immediately took control of the situation until paramedics arrived. Shannan always had a pulse and never stopped breathing; however she started having seizures due to the lack of oxygen to her brain. When the paramedics arrived, she was initially taken to Harrisburg Hospital ER, however they did they did not have the proper equipment for a pediatric near drowning. From there, she was transferred to the Penn State Hershey Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where she remained for four days, and eventually recovered.
Shannan has no memory of the incident. She has no lasting effects due to the oxygen deprivation, except for seizures which are partially controlled by medication. After the accident I conducted some research and found that what my friend had nearly lost her life to was Shallow Water Blackout. She was one of the lucky ones, we soon realized, as most people do not survive SWB.
Two Navy SEALs Drown in Training Facility Pool
"Sources within the SEAL community tell SOFREP that the two SEALs were involved in an exhaustive underwater workout practicing breath holding techniques when the two apparently experienced what is commonly known in the diving community as a SHALLOW WATER BLACKOUT. It’s unknown whether the two were spotting for each other." Click here to read more. Also see Military.com.
State of Vermont Dedicates Month to SWB Awareness
"Less than a year after the death of Vermont native Benjamin Haller, family and friends have organized a nonprofit to spread the word about the tragedy and help prevent more deaths like his. Wednesday, the state dedicated a month of awareness in his honor..." Click here to read more. We hope that the rest of the US will follow Vermont! No prolonged breath holding!
CDC Issues Warning About Underwater Breath-holding
On May 22, 2015, the CDC issued a report about the dangers of underwater breath-holding. Click here to view this report.
SWBP Featured In Several National News Outlets
SWBP Featured on Good Morning America
Mother Who Lost Son in Spearfishing Accident Warns About Shallow Water Blackout
Cody Bilbrey-Nickless, a 2014 Citrus High School graduate and Hernando teen, went spearfishing June 22 with some friends about 17 miles off the Hernando County coast. “He had no idea what was coming,” Heather Carmichael said about her son, Cody Bilbrey-Nickless, drowning as a result, she believes, of shallow water blackout. “He was completely healthy.” (Click here to continue reading)
Special thanks to Buster Thompson of the Citrus County Chronicle for story coverage.
Young Girl Saved From Shallow Water Blackout by Her Sisters
"Diving for pool toys almost cost seven year old Laylah Titley her life last week....It has since become known that Laylah suffered from shallow water blackout - which is a loss of oxygen towards the end of a breath-hold dive in water shallower than five metres where the victim does not feel the need to breathe and blacks out." (Click here to continue reading)
Informative Article on SwimSwam.com
This article is the first in a series of three on shallow water blackout that will be published to raise awareness of the issue and help prevent further tragedies from occurring.
"Shallow Water Blackout: The Quiet Killer" July 14th, 2011. 21-year-olds Bohdan Vitenko and Jonathan Proce of Staten Island were eager to join the armed forces. In preparation for their upcoming military training, the two young men met at their local swimming pool to practice breath-holding exercises. Hours later, Vitenko and Proce were found unconscious by lifeguards in a far corner of the pool. Despite CPR and hospital treatment, both of the men died.... (Click here to continue reading)
Part 2 of Article Series:
"Shallow Water Blackout: The Quiet Killer - The Facts" Although the term “shallow water blackout” has become the most commonly used term to describe any unexplained loss of consciousness due to prolonged breath holding in a pool or shallow body of water, this terminology can be slightly confusing... (Click here to continue reading)