Jackie Schulz – Mother of Non-Fatal Drowning Survivor

When my son was 3, I didn’t notice him get back in the pool after eating (or maybe he fell in – we’ll never know), but I heard my daughter (9 years old at the time) call his name in a voice I’d never heard her express before, and haven’t since. He was under the water, 6 feet away from me, my husband, my dad and step mom. None of us knew he was in the pool. He couldn’t swim without a puddle jumper, and we’d removed it to let him eat. When I got him out of the water, he looked terrified and coughed up a good bit of water. I know now how lucky we are. I know 15 more seconds could have meant a much different story. I know my daughter saved his life. After learning from Judah Brown Project, I now know how dangerous puddle jumpers are. It took me a long time to tell anyone this story for fear of being judged, but I’m the 1 in 5 people who have been affected by a drowning and I now know how important it is to tell our story.