ATLANTA — This summer, a local family has a warning for other parents about how quickly and more important, quietly your child could drown.
It’s something the Williams family knows all too well. Two years ago, Janna Williams says a babysitter lost track of their 4-year-old son Mikey. Next thing they knew he was lifeless at the bottom of her swimming pool.
“We didn’t know if he was dead,” said Janna. “We didn't know if he was alive, we didn't know anything.”
“What I think I first heard was they found him in the pool,” said Mikey’s dad, Michael Williams.
Paramedics life-flighted Mikey to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He survived because he made it to the ER in time, but two years later he’s still recovering from a brain injury caused by the time he spent without oxygen.
“I’m thankful beyond belief, but it’s hard,” said Janna.
Each year dozens of Georgia children die by drowning’s, and doctors said children are most at risk when they are preschool age or younger.
“Of the 30 fatalities annually in Georgia, about half are in the preschool age,” said Dr. Scott Batchelor, an ER doctor at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Batchelor said younger children often don't have the strength to fight the water so parents won't even hear a struggle. He said a small child can silently sink in a heartbeat.
“A quick second and they engulf a large amount of water and they're in serious trouble,” said Batchelor. “No screaming, nothing. You just look and they're gone.”
“I don't know he'll ever be back 100 percent, but he's definitely trying and he's working on it,” said Janna about Mikey’s recovery from the tragic event.
Mikey's parents want to warn other Georgia families this summer to keep an extra close watch near the pool.
“You gotta pay attention,” said Janna. “You really do.”
“Spend as much time as you can with them because you never know when they are going to be gone,” said Michael.
WSBTV
