Shallow Water Blackout Prevention has partnered with the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps and the Michael Phelps Foundation to release a PSA
As told by Will Aherne ** Special Note: We at SWBP feel it very important to share Will's story, as it is a vivid reminder of how quickly a perfect day spent with family can turn into tragedy. His children saved his life, but others may not be so fortunate. Please take time to read this story and share with family
As told by Teresa Thomas, proud mother of Bailey On July 2, 2014, my then 14 year old son Bailey almost drowned to shallow water blackout. He is an excellent swimmer and athlete and we have always been very cautious with water safety, but we were unaware of the dangers of breath holding. Many times I have timed my kids
As told by Mark Morgan of Brentwood, Essex, UK , proud father of Reiss Morgan, age 15.
Reiss was a very active sporty child like many boys his age. He played tennis, football, was a keen coarse fisher and a very competent swimmer. He regularly swam at the tennis club, and I had no fear at all of Reiss in water. He was always in the water and had a love for it (yeah I know a lot of people say that) but he loved the sea, wildlife, fishing and all.
On the night of July 30, 2009, Reiss and I had been shopping for his mother's birthday present (next day) and at the last minute we had a change of plans. Reiss was in the Air Cadets and was due to go that evening, but instead he phoned his mum to ask if he could come with me to the club for a swim. We went home and Reiss put his mother's present and card under his bed and got his swimming gear. At the club I went for a workout upstairs and Reiss went to the pool. I came down from the gym to simply check on him at about 7:15pm and he saw me and waved through the viewing window (he was talking to the female assistant.) About 15 minutes passed and as I came down into the viewing area the alarms were going and I could see they were trying to resuscitate my son poolside.
A doctor was at the club at the time but he couldn't bring Reiss back.
Unbelievably there were a few adults in the pool at the time of Reiss' drowning. At the inquest it came out that Reiss said to one of them "Do you know how long I can hold my breath for?" to which the man's reply was "I don't care. " Also, Reiss had been seen hyperventilating.
When we buried Reiss we chose to put him near his school where you can hear the children playing during the daytime.
Dr. Lewis First, Chief of Pediatrics at Vermont Children's explains how to protect children from SWB.
Click here to view this informative report.
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.
"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.
"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!
On May 22, 2015, the CDC issued a report about the dangers of underwater breath-holding. Click here to view this report.
