Two parents are counting their blessings after a pregnant Minnesota mother saved their son from drowning at Crystal Beach Park and Lake.
Stephanie Swedberg, who is currently 33 weeks pregnant, was visiting the lake with her 3-year old twin sons on July 21st. The mother is a former lifeguard and was coincidentally teaching her boys to float when she noticed a child nearby was struggling to keep his head above the water.
The mom-of-two was alerted to the situation when she saw another woman running towards the lake, despite being fully clothed. She was motioning towards a group of boys, ranging in ages from 10 to 14, who were around 20 feet away from Stephanie. When she took a closer look, Stephanie realized one of the boys was drowning.
“I didn’t really realize anything was off until I saw one of the moms fully dressed, sprinting into the water and screaming for somebody to help her son,” she explained. “Then I looked over and I saw one of the boys unable to keep his head above the water.”
Stephanie said she wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss since the boy in trouble wasn’t even shouting for help. “He wasn’t screaming,” she said. “He was just thrashing around, bobbing a little bit.”
When she realized what was happening, Stephanie made sure her sons were safe and then began swimming over towards the drowning boys. She was able to bring him safely to shore, marking the first time she’s ever saved anyone from the water despite previously working as a lifeguard.
Stephanie hopes other parents will use this close-call as a reminder to teach their children water safety and swimming skills as soon as possible- which is why she says she was teaching her kids to swim on that fateful day.
“I’ve just known with these guys that I wanted them to learn how to swim as soon as possible,” she told Fox 9, adding, “[So they won’t] panic in a situation that they can’t touch the bottom.”
She added that she hopes this inspired the boy and his parents to sign him up for swim lessons. “I encouraged him to keep taking swimming lessons and maybe become a lifeguard [himself],” she told the outlet.
It’s important to take all safety precautions available when bringing your children near a body of water, no matter how experienced they may be at swimming. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drowning is the leading cause of death in American children between the ages of 1 to 4, and the third leading cause in kids ages 5 to 19.
To prevent drowning, it’s important that parents stay near their children at all times. Had the boy’s mother not alerted onlookers to her son’s struggle, the former lifeguard may not have been able to save him.
Similarly, it’s important that parents don’t simply rely on water wings or floaties to keep their kids safe. Making younger kids buddy up with older kids as well as ensuring your child has been exposed to swim lessons can minimize the risk of injury in the water. Likewise, teaching your kids water rules as well as CPR is a must.