After toddler's near drowning in backyard pool, Quebec mom has warning for parents
A Quebec mother who saved her child from the bottom of a backyard pool last weekend has a message for other families.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, children were splashing around in Catherine Couture's backyard pool.
"Warm weather, 30 degrees outside. Everything was there for a pool day," she recounted about that day that quickly took a turn for the worse.
Lunchtime meant that her 22-month-old daughter Kacy had to leave the pool. So, off came her swimming flotation device.
Couture says it all happened when she turned around to grab a drink of water.
"I put back my eyes on the pool. It’s really weird because I know I'm looking at the pool, but I'm not seeing that she’s in the bottom of the pool because they are all swimming, they’re all playing. and that’s the moment when my 3-year-old came to me and told me mommy Kacy's in the bottom of the pool," Couture said.
It appears Kacy went back in the water without anyone noticing or hearing.
"It took me a second to just scream and jump in the pool to take her out. When you didn’t see the fall, you’re thinking, was it quick enough?" she said.
Kacy was conscious but shaken up. She was brought to the emergency room and appears to be doing fine.
Water safety experts say it can happen in a matter of seconds.
"It doesn't matter if it's fatal or non-fatal drownings, the situation is very silent and usually based on the information we have is between 15 to 30 seconds," said Raynald Hawkins, executive director of the Quebec Lifesaving Society.
Research from the Montreal Children's Hospital shows one child will be brought to the ER every day this summer for a drowning or near drowning incident.
"For every death, unfortunately, that they will see on the news this summer of a child who drowned there were more than 10 who will consult the emergency department or be admitted to the hospital," the hospital's Dr. Hussein Wissanji said.
He urges people to have a fence around their pool.
"A lot of these drownings were associated with the absence of inappropriate fencing," he said.
Couture has a fence in place but she wants to remind people to never take their eyes off the pool.
"We always think it’s going to happen to someone else. They were not checking their children. They were not around the pool. We are around the pool. But it can happen in a fraction of a second," she said.
She hopes people will learn from her terrifying experience so they can have a fun and safe summer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976871.1721873052!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
DEVELOPING Jasper updates: 'Significant loss' within Jasper townsite
One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park has reached the townsite.
Alberta calls in army to assist with wildfire situation
Alberta has called in the Canadian Armed Forces to help assist with the worsening wildfire situation in the province.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
Vacations, meals, booze: Contractor used $100K of charity's money for personal expenses, B.C. court finds
A B.C. man who was hired to help a non-profit build a food hub but instead spent the money on personal expenses – including travel, restaurants, booze and cannabis – has been ordered to pay more than $120,000 in damages.
Male, female killed, 2 others injured in 'gun battle' outside Toronto plaza: police
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.