As I sat there watching the children playing at an inflatable water park behind the cafe lunching, sun basking down on children splashing with laughter and calling out to friends to chase them through the shallow pools it brings an eyrie uneasy sense of reflection to my soul.
It was the day after Christmas, here in Australia it's known as Boxing Day...back in the day of royalty and aristocrats traditionally the wealthy people who could afford Christmas lunch would box up their left overs and give them to the poor and needy in the community. Now days Boxing Day is usually spent going to the post Christmas sales. This particular year was 10 years ago when our youngest was just turning 2.
We had purchased and moved into this new house only 4 months earlier and had paid a swim instructor to teach the girls how to swim in the new pool. The instructor was great with the older three girls and had them swimming proficiently enough to save themselves and get to the side of the pool if they were to fall in. Our fourth little one, being as shy as a mouse, refused to get into the somewhat cold water during the lesson period and as such didn't grasp the concept of the life saving instructions.
Being a cautious mother I was really aware of the dangerous reality of the likely hood of her drowning if she got into the pool enclosure unattended. On the morning of the 26th of December I shared my concerns with my husband about being afraid that she was unable to swim and like the concerned parents that we are we created a plan so that she would be safe. Our plan was to buy a swim suit with floatation built in. All the while we were outside having a swim with her in our arms encouraging her to blow bubbles and paddle with her feet. Just a regular morning with two regular parents doing what regular parents do. Dean is such a capable father and I have never had any concerns with him doing any of the fatherly type duties...he changed nappies, fed bottles, heated or cooked meals from scratch, dressed the girls, helped with laundry, strapped the girls into their car seats, made their beds, helped pick up their toys and anything you could think of he would do so I never considered or thought twice about leaving our 2 year old in the swimming pool area with her Dad when I went into the house for a shower.
Announcing to Deano that I was getting out of the pool thinking that he understood he was then in charge of our toddler, I went into the house, got undressed and started the shower. There was only one problem...Deano in his mind thought that I had the toddler with me when I left and to my horror I heard him scream my name at the top of his lungs a sound so alarming that I hope I never hear this terrifying scream again. I turn on my heals look out the back window to find my husband dragging my drowning toddler, whose body lay face down floating in the pool, out of the water Horrified I let out my own blood curdling scream. Slipping and skidding on the polished wooden floors I managed to run through the house literally butt naked grab the phone and proceeded to call for an ambulance as I ran towards my baby now lying on her back on the edge of the pool while my husband started to do mouth to mouth resuscitation. Between the two of us we counted the breaths but still no response. Looking up I saw the chart for resuscitation mounted on the wall reminding me of the importance of the recovery position. My childcare first aid training kicking into my thoughts at the same time...never would have known I would be using this on any child let alone my own! We moved her body onto her side and with that water thrust out of her lungs. Eyes still rolled back in her head a few coughs and then nothing again. Dean then proceeded with mouth to mouth...all the while the person on the other end of the phone was assessing the critical situation....for what seemed like an eternity (in reality was probably only a minute or two) we didn't see any life indicators. Just when we thought all was lost her little body started breathing on its own. But we weren't out of the clear her breathing was stopping and starting like a toy running out of battery power . I felt we were losing. At this point I don't know if you believe in miracles but a I truly testify that a miracle happened this day.
As the door bell rang I ran to grab a towel of the fence to cover my nakedness and clambered towards the front door...but before I did I with total faith and chocking back the tears I said to my husband "Stop what you are doing and pray for our little girl, give her a blessing I know it will work."
As I brought the ambulance drivers thought the house and to the pool area the sight before our eyes was a true testament of Gods love for me and my child. There I witnessed a little girl standing up and embracing her blind Dad with her arms wrapped around his neck in a cuddle that would envy all cuddles.
Surprised at the scene the ambulance worker asked "Wasn't this child just a minute ago unconscious and not breathing?" Wow just wow!
It took a day of recovery in the hospital on oxygen before they release our little girl back into our care.
Someone was really watching over us this day. Sometimes it's not always easy to say that Dean is not able to do all things in life...without instructions...if only I had told him verbally that his daughter was in the pool area with him and not just assumed he understood, the outcome would have been a lot more different for us and our little girl on this day. However I must say that although he failed through no fault of his own to care for his little girl for the shortest period of time, he was an amazing blind Dad feeling for her heart beat, feeling and listening for her breath on his face and giving her the breath of life and this time he really came through with his trust in a higher force, some call it the universe, some call it Allah, Others call it Buda but we call Him Heavenly Father and it's through our faith and Gods grace that our girl is alive and well today. For this we will always be grateful.
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