'My Toddler Almost Drowned in the Shower'

“She dragged his blue lifeless body out of the water. His head was between his knees on the floor like a rag doll.”

Richelle Gregory from Newcastle, NSW faced a heart-stopping moment just a few weeks back when her gorgeous toddler almost drowned from shower water. Little boy Jasper was found face down in a bucket by his seven-year-old sister Sunny.

His near drowning incident happened in just a matter of minutes when Richelle was on the phone.

Sunny had noticed that her 16-month old brother, who has just started crawling, had gone quiet so she went to check on him only to find him blue and lifeless in the bucket that was collecting shower water.

Toddler Almost Drowned From Shower Water

“Jasper crawled for the first time on Christmas Eve and in the last few weeks we have commented on how fast he is getting around: we have bought the gates, quoted the balustrade, got the power point covers, moved the dog food, discussed the fly screen, moved the house plants, lowered the cot mattress,” Richelle shared.

“Last night in a matter of minutes Jasper fell face first into a tub collecting shower water. He was found by Sunny and she dragged his blue lifeless body out of the water.

Jasper almost drowned from shower water collected in a bucket. | Image: Supplied

“He was like a rag doll”

“In six minutes (I only know this because I was on the phone to Nicholas) Jasper had shared a mango with Sunny while sitting in the bathroom doorway while Shawn packed away groceries and I was talking.

“Sunny brought the bowl and spoon to the kitchen, went singing to her room and in her words “went to check Jasper because he was quiet”.

Richelle then explained that she found Jasper with his head was between his knees on the floor like a rag doll.

“When I picked him up his open eyes will be forever burned into my memory. My baby.

My instinct was to run for help. All I know is I was breathing into him and screaming and running,” she added.

Jasper was saved by his next door neighbour who performed CPR on him for 13 minutes. | Image: Supplied

“She saved his life”

Luckily for Richelle, her neighbour, who she will be “forever and ever indebted to her for having the hands of a hero,” the head of a trained nurse saved Jasper’s life.

“Carolyn saved our beautiful Jasper’s life. 13 minutes of CPR, unrelenting, focused, powerful.

“We spent last night in PICU, tonight in the children’s ward. At 3am, after 8 hours of not knowing what our future would be, he woke up cried his hangry cry and breastfeed passionately,” she added.

“His warm smile of gratitude has never had more power on my heart. My baby Jasper almost drowned yesterday. Our J-magic has tested us again.”

Richelle said she they were reminded of how very special he is, how very fragile life is, how very careful we must be.

“A child can drown in 3 cm of water. In 30 seconds. Silently,” she added.

This article was first published in Kidspot and was edited and republished on theAsianparent with permission.

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