Arizona mother turns tragedy into mission with infant swimming lessons
Arizona mother fights to prevent child drownings
Drowning remains the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4. This is a devastating stat that an Arizona mother knows all too well, and she's made it her life's work to prevent this from happening to another family. FOX 10's Ty Brennan reports.
PHOENIX - For many Arizonans, the pool is the perfect place to cool off during the brutal summer months.
What they're saying:
"I wanted my kids to be safe in my pool," said Kalin DiRoma, a mother of two.
That is why DiRoma started looking for swimming lessons for her two girls and eventually decided on (ISR), or Infant Swimming Resource classes.
"You look at these little toddlers and think they can't figure it out, and they pick it up so quickly," DiRoma said.
"It's basically rescue survival classes for children from 6 months of age all the way to 6 years of age," said Laura Castle, an ISR swim instructor.
Castle has been teaching ISR swim classes for 14 years.
"I do think it's the most important skill you can give to your child," Castle said. "Our main focus: them being able to self-rescue, meaning them being able to rest and breathe and float."
Laura Castle
Castle says she learned about ISR classes years ago from her sister, who was putting her niece through the classes at the time, and thought it might be a good fit for her 2-year-old son, Christian, who was about the same age at the time.
"She was like you should come stay with us for the summer and put Christian in lessons, and we could do this together," Castle said.
Castle decided against it.
"I just don't think I could put him through this — it's too much," Castle said. "It's too traumatizing for me, it's traumatizing for him — quite honestly it scared me."
But then, tragedy struck.
"We lost Christian two years later to a drowning and I just remember sitting in the ER and my first thought holding him was — I would take him crying any day and still have him here with me. How could I have prevent him from learning these skills — he would probably still be here," Castle said.
(Laura Castle)
Christian was with family friends at a pool movie night when he went underwater without anyone noticing.
"By the time the movie ended, the pool started clearing and that is when they found him. But by then, it was too late," Castle said. "It was an unfortunate situation where there were a lot of people in the water and a lot of people thought a lot of people were watching, especially in the presence of five lifeguards these are the circumstances around drowning that can be preventable."
Castle says every time she hears about a child drowning, it takes her back to that day.
"I just remember what it felt like and brings me back to the darkness surrounding that whole time and I just wish I could have gotten to their little ones sooner," Castle said.
(Laura Castle)
She has now made drowning prevention her life's work.
"For me, it's so rewarding, and it's almost like I feel his presence in every single one of these kids," Castle said.
Castle says every time she teaches a child to swim, she sees it as a gift and a way to honor Christian.
"Beautiful Blake — that was a beautiful big," Castle said during a lesson.
With every child she teaches, Castle knows it is one more parent that will hopefully never have to experience the heartache she knows all too well.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Kalin DiRoma and Laura Castle.