California Toddler Pulled From Pool Pronounced Dead, Later Found Breathing

California Toddler Pulled From Pool Pronounced Dead, Later Found Breathing
The Associated Press
Published: Nov 8, 2003

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) - Forty minutes after a toddler found face down in a swimming pool was declared dead at a hospital, a police investigator examining the body noticed the little girl was breathing.

Doctors who rushed to the room Friday were able to revive 20-month-old Mackayala Jespersen, and Saturday morning, the little girl was in critical condition but alive, Sgt. Sean Fares said.

"It was a very emotional moment for everyone," said Sgt. Ron Gillett, a police spokesman. "We thought she didn't make it and then she did. It was the lowest of the lows and the highest of the highs."

<snip>

What was unusual in Mackayala's case, he said, was the time involved.

"If you had said she came back to life after 10 minutes I would be surprised, but 40 minutes is just exceptional," he said.

More: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGASKOIRRMD.html

TYY

about how dangerous toddlers and pools are.

Some family friends were staying at their parents house where there was a pool. They went out for a trip to the grocery store. Grandpa and Grandma weren't paying enough attention and when they came back--their one-year-old was dead.

certainly it will be a damned shame.

Is she better off dead?

I saw a "public service" commercial last night making the connection. Showing a toddler bending over to get a floating toy out of the pool and making the connection that the parents were in the house smoking pot while their kid was about to drown. I've never seen anything so disgusting and patently false.....

I hope in this case the poor kid survives with no side effects....there is no excuse to leave a baby unattended by a swimming pool.

Didn't James Baker lose a grandchild to drowning a couple of years ago?

All it takes is answering the phone call from your church which is calling to find out if you can help out with the cake sale next Sunday.

i haven't seen that one, but those anti-weed commercials are sickening in their blatant propagandizing! it's up to kids' parents to teach them the truth!

I think the AMA should take a good hard look at the doctor to see how quick he or she was to pronounce this baby dead. How many other babies and adults were pronounced dead when they weren't? Truely sad.

but that was in 1907. You would expect medicine to have advanced a bit since then.

(Everyone was worried about his mom, who was a bit old to be birthin' babies, rheumatoid arthritis etc., but those were also the good old days before birth control, and men's needs came before those of a sick woman. His eldest sister who was 20 noticed that he was breathing despite having been stored in an ice cold unheated room and saved him. She pretty much raised him too.)

I hope that the child does not suffer permanant damage. I am amazed at how unaware many people still seem to be that small children and water should never be left alone together, even for a second. A neighbors child died a few years ago in an unattended and accesible pool.

too much brain damage.

I caused a huge family rift when I decided that my one year old could not go to her grandparents unless I was there. My child would just head to their unfenced pool and I got exhausted chasing after her. There was no way I could be assured that they could watch her closely enough with that pool. She would crawl through the cat door while I went for a cup of coffee and I would run outside and see her heading to the pool. The entire family, including my husband got angry with me. I had visited friends very recently that had a child die in a pool so I didn't back down. A few months later, they had fenced the pool. ;-)

And for your child :)

People tend to look at these things, unfenced pools, etc., as a matter of "low risk". They need to realize that the potential loss would be far, far too high to justify ANY risk. You're not talking about getting your shoes wet or losing your wedding ring, it's your child's life.

Welcome to DU :toast:

Out of arms reach near a swimming pool. And Peyton can swim. She has been swimming on her own since age one she is now 2.5 but I will NOT let her get arms reach away from me when she is around water.

What the fuck is wrong with people? Swimming pools are deadly to children without supervision. Would these idiots let their toddlers play with long knives?

And no I am not condoning the stupid "smoke pot ads let your child drown shit"...but I have seen first hand simply ignorant parents let their children wander off around a pool or lake or the ocean with no regard for the imminent danger.

This kind of tragedy just blows my mind because regardless of water hazards there are many other hazards and parents of toddlers just need to suck it up and watch their fucking kids.

Yes it takes time and energy and diligence...but are the kids worth it? Hell fucking YES!!!

Is this a rant on negligent parents....well yes it fucking is.

The pool is an above ground one that would be very hard to get into without the ladder in position. My husband and I did not put the deck on for easy access because the neighbors kids always end up in our yard and none of them can swim very well.

The ladder is always locked when no one is swimming. As my kids have grown older, they help to police the pool and make sure the ladder is locked when the pool is not in use. I also request that if a child comes to swim in our pool that their parent come along also...I am not a babysitter for other people's kids. If they can't come...they can take a raincheck.

Pools are a lot of fun, but they take a lot of responsibility. If people are unable to accept that responsibility they should just visit their local public pool or private club.

We had a drowning death in our town this summer. The child walked onto the babysitter's deck which directly led to another deck with an above ground pool (gave the feel of an inground pool)...the child drowned.

but "Mackayala"? What were her parents thinking? Jesus.

makayla (and its derivations) happens to be a highly popular girls name now.

The little girl and her parents got a second chance.

I agree that no one should have an unfenced pool. And of course it's the parents' responsibility to ensure a safe environment for their children. But it is really, really hard to keep a small child safe, and we don't know what the specifics of this family was. Like 'lost a job', 'just moved in', or family crises. None of which are "100% excuses" but I think it's not fair to judge. I'm sure they are suffering very badly.