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Comment by sys32768 | Hacker News Reader

I never got to properly thank the 15-yo lifeguard who saved my 7-yo from certain drowning in a crowded artificial lake pool.

We turned away for what only seemed a minute and he was going under. He was slightly blue in the face when the life guard brought him out.

The weird thing is he didn't fight or flail. He just sort of faded away into the water, and it struck me as especially weird that he didn't seemed scared at all after.

It has haunted me ever since just how easy it can be for a child to drown. Many swim lessons for my child later, I still watch him like a hawk and insist on life jackets in any moving water conditions.

Bondi Rescue, a series on Netflix about a team of Australian lifeguards, is instructive and entertaining.

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I am curious, hope this is OK to ask as I have a 7 yr old...

How would you rater you 7-yo swimming ability when this happened? For example could he swim 20 meters (~60 ft)?

Also I might watch that Netflix thanks. I don't go to Bondi much but Manly beach a few km away is interesting. They are always yelling at people who are swimming in the dangerous current area and it takes several whistles to get them out. I usually give 'em a gentle yell too if I am there on a surf board :-)

I almost drowned in one of these wave pools as a teenager and I had been swimming every summer in swim camps (so a decent swimmer).

In my case it was because there were so many people in the pool that I could barely move, after struggling to breathe a few moments I had to exert myself to climb up someone else's inner tube to gain my breath. But I do recall spending most of my time barely above water and struggling to breathe. Could have gone very bad.

My mom used to tell how I almost drowned one time in a swimming pool when I was about five. I got stuck under a floating mattress of some kind. It definitely made a bigger impression on her than it did on me. I can (vaguely) remember the incident, and I don't remember freaking out or being scared of water (or mattresses) afterwards.

Might this be similar to the stress/shock introduced partial memory loss, as it often happens with heavy accidents, where the accident itself isn't remembered by the patient?

It could possibly be from oxygen deprivation, especially if they passed out, but without knowing the specifics of the case (did they inhale water/did they go unconscious) it's hard to say for sure.

I had never thought about it before where Aussie shows get shown in other countries. Over here it's usually reruns on 10 BOLD

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