Kaleb

My precious little cousin Kaleb.

Last Saturday on July 9, this darling little 2 year old was rushed to the hospital because his mama found him in their above ground pool.

My cousin Tiffany called me and said he was in a coma.

Not long after I talked to my sister Jess who was at the hospital and said that his heart was starting up again. But everything else was failing and there were no signs of brain activity.

At that point there was nothing for anyone to do. He eventually passed.

I want to record this as a part of my blog (also one of my journals). I thought this would be a good opportunity to share my testimony.

First, here are some basic statistics.

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There were more than 3300 unintentional drownings in the United States, an average of 9 per day.

 Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years.  

19% of drowning deaths involving children occur in public pools with certified Lifeguards present.

 Every second counts. Drowning occurs rapidly and soundlessly, averaging 20 seconds in small children and up to a minute in adults.

Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less.

The majority of children who survive (92 percent) are discovered within two minutes following submersion, and most children who die (86 percent) are found after 10 minutes. Nearly all who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation die or are left with severe brain injury.

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 I'm reminded of just how oblivious I and ignorant I can be. I've been so blessed. I grew up in a family that took such good care of me, raised me in the church, I have a healthy body that allows me to do and feel things. I have a job, clothes to wear, food to eat, a wonderful loving husband. For the most part its been a breezy life. Too often I find myself moving along having thoughts that nothing really scary is ever going to happen to me.
When hearing about Kaleb I was reminded that scary things happen. They happen to the good people and the bad people. Its unexpected and scary.

But so humbling. 

Its frustrating sometimes to know that life is not in our hands. We have the ability to make choices but we can't determine every outcome of our choices. Thank goodness for that! Its so much easier to trust Heavenly Father than to fret about why certain things are happening.
 I can't imagine going through something like this without having that eternal perscpective.
I'm grateful to know the things I do about where we all came from, who we are, and where we're going. It makes tragedies such as this more bareable.
I hope that we can all turn to our Father in Heaven and remember what The Savior has done for us, to find comfort in challenging moments.
And I pray for Kaleb's parents that they can find comfort and even happiness in this challenging moment.