My name is Christy and my family and I live in Arizona. I have two wonderful and beautiful boys, 4 year old and 2 year old. They have taken ISR lessons from Mary. since they were each 14 months old and have received refreshers every year (sometimes more than one in a year). Just one week ago, (after completing their refreshers at the beginning of summer) my boys and I were playing in the backyard one hot Phoenix summer morning around 8:00 a.m. when I mentioned to my boys that we should go swimming. With a secure pool fence around the pool, I let the boys continue to play in the backyard while I ran upstairs to change into my swimsuit and use the restroom (I was gone approximately 8 minutes). When I came outside I saw my 4 year old swimming in the pool and my 2 year old sitting in the boat raft in the middle of the pool, both still in their pajamas. At first I didn’t even know what I was seeing, because I was truly in shock and so confused. It was like my brain was in slow motion trying to process what my eyes were seeing. Then I saw the chair from the patio set in front of the gate. As my heart began to race and body began to shake I started to cry and thanked God that my boys were alive and ok. In an instant I could have lost my family and my whole world! My first thought and the first words out of my husband’s mouth when I called him on the phone were “that’s why we have done the lessons just in case something like this ever happened” After gathering my composure and trying to question my 4 year old about their unbelievable stunt it amazed me that he sounded so innocent and matter of fact, “Well Mommy, we just climbed over the fence” as if I should have been proud of their accomplishment. It just confirmed to me that young children don’t truly understand death and tragedy and can in no way comprehend the gravity of such an action. I have learned that you can never underestimate the skill and curiosity of young children, assume that they understand the risks nor can you assume that you will never make a mistake or get distracted as a parent. Everyone has those moments in life that we regret or split decisions we make that we can never take back and for some it turns out to be a “Phew, that was close!!” moment and sadly for others it’s a life changing tragedy. I truly believe we escaped tragedy that day due to all of your hard work and passion for the ISR program and the highly skilled training and compassion of our instructor Mary.
There are no words to explain how extremely grateful we are for your efforts and dedication. I have heard Mary tells parents over the years that the lessons will not make your child drown proof, nor will a pool fence, but it’s another layer of protection and it’s the final layer.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Christy (mother of two wonderful boys)
AZ
