SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Venice family whose toddler suffered a near-drowning is sharing their story to raise awareness for pool safety at home.
On Thanksgiving Day, 2-year-old Paul was found face down in his family’s pool as they were getting ready to go to the beach.
A neighbor heard the family’s screams and rushed over to perform CPR.
Paul was flown to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Pete and has made a miraculous recovery.
But not all children in this scenario are as lucky.
"We do see a lot of children who have several anoxic injuries and don’t have good outcomes," said Petra Stanton, All Children's safety supervisor.
Paul’s parents, Travis and Hannah Bellamy, don’t want any other families to face a drowning tragedy like they nearly did when they found Paul that day.
"I just hard to get him out. I just prayed that he was still there because I didn’t know how long he was in the water," said Hannah, Paul's mother, who found him in the pool.
According to the CDC, the leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 4 is drowning. Over 75% of drownings happen in private pools.
Some private pool safety steps include:
- Make sure pools have at least a 4-foot fence and locked gate.
- Have door or gate alarms near the pool
- Have a designated water watcher while in the pool
- Know CPR
- Use life jackets
- Teach children to swim
