sad occurrance--another death of disney guest

[RickinNYC]

I calmly explained to her that I "found" him in the DEEP area of the wave pool and that if she was indeed his mother......a cat would be a better mother!!

I hope to God you layed into that idiot woman.

 

[mom2boys]

So sad for all involved. The parents & the aunt/cousins the girl was travelling with must be devastated.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Very sad. I can't help but wonder if it was heat stroke or something similar. We've had people die from that around here, and this is NH. Can't even imagine how quickly it could happen in Disney, even at a Water Park.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

My thoughts are that it was heat related. Not drinking/eating enough perhaps. Sad news.

 

[princessbaileigh]

people today are just so scared that others will take off with their children. However, being a mother I wouldn't dream of letting go of my child in the water...especially if the wave pool was going. It is just too easy for them to be swept away, knocked down, or loose their footing and go under. It happens to me and I am an adult! I am so very sorry for these parents and family. I can't imagine what they are going through. Lifegaurds can only do so much and then it is up to the parents to watch their children. Whatever happened to this little girl, It might have been something else. Or she just might have gotten to exhaused. My prayers go to this little girl and her family!

 

[tiggersmom2]

I hope to God you layed into that idiot woman.

LOL Rick....I DID!!!!! I am not known for my "kind and gentle demeanor"

To her credit......she did gather her things from her coveted lounge on the beach....and slink off ......

 

[grlpwrd]

I saw this in our local news:

http://www.dailypress.com/news/orl-bk-disney080505,0,2969523.story?coll=dp-headlines-topnews

So very sad.....

 

[SRUAlmn]

Oh my! My BF has family in Newport News. I know this is not a relative, but I wonder if his cousin (who is 11) knows her.

Unfortunately, I have also experienced trying to help children only to have the parents scream at me. I work in a health club that has a huge children's wing and 5 pools. Everyday we see neglectful parents. Last weekend, one mother put her 9 month old baby in a carrier and set the carrier on the edge of a poolside table. Well, I guess the baby wiggled, and fell off onto the concrete. I was all the way on the other side of the pool and heard the baby screaming. Another woman, called to the mother and asked her if it was her baby. The mother was still nearby and hadn't even noticed. The poor baby was bruised and scratched on it's face. The mother took it to the emergency room (while the rest of the family stayed and swam,) and then came back later in the afternoon (and brought the baby.) I was infuriated

 

[floridaminnie]

With the way the heat index has been this past month, the first thing that came to mind was something happened to her due to the heat. It just sneaks up on you sometimes and being in the water, somtimes the symptons especially in children are harder to see.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Very sad.

I wonder if she was overheated, dehydrated? How hot was in in Orlando last week?

 

[browneyes]

Just said a prayer for her family.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm not seeing the overheating/dehydration to cause a 12yo to become so "overcome" by those conditions. She was in a water park--not trucking around the parts.

Unless her electrolytes were off--or her potassium or something. I do know (not the specifics though) that if your body is dangerously low on potassium--you can go into cardiac arrest. Also---if you have too much water in your system and your salt is too low---you can die from that as well.

I'm sorry---trying to picture it...but just not picturing it at all that the heat was a factor.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Very sad.

I wonder if she was overheated, dehydrated? How hot was in in Orlando last week?

90s, not sure the humidity or heat index.

 

[floridaminnie]

The heat index has been around 102 this week. They have been warning people on the news about heat stroke and such.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I don't know about the heat thing, especially at a water park. Our heat index this week was in the 105-110 range, and Friday we had 130 kids walking around the zoo for 2 1/2 hours. We kept them hydrated and in the shade as much as possible, but even the couple with asthma were fine.

 

[dlrhine]

I feel really really horrible for the girl's family. As you can see by my signature I was a deep water lifeguard at Blizzard Beach in 1995 and filled in at Typhoon Lagoon and River Country when we had enough gaurds at Blizzard Beach. I have to tell you that guarding the wave pools or the lake at river country is no easy task. I felt like I was on a game show many a days ready to hit the Emergency Stop and go in. The E-Stop stops the waves at the wave pool to make a rescue easier for the guards. I have to say I've pulled out more kids and adults out of the wave pools than anywhere else in any of the parks. It isn't an easy job. The pools are crowded and hard to determine when someone is playing round or really needs help. I've gone in on many false alarms but I have to know at the end of the day that everyone was safe on my shift. I don't know about now, but when I was a guard for Disney the training was intense. I actually called home and told my parents I thought Disney was trying to kill me while training. We did two weeks worth of rescue training from 6:30am until 6:30 pm in a 7ft deep pool. That means you tred water the whole time as I am only 5'2''. We did 50 warm up laps every morning, and the rest was training with a one hr. lunch. We ever did brick resucues to the bottom of a 15 foot diving well. Besides training you are audited at disney by Elis and Associates one what you know, and they are surprise audits so it keeps you on your toes and fresh. Anyhow, just thought I'd tell you those guards earn there money!

 

[tiggerdog]

I feel really really horrible for the girl's family. As you can see by my signature I was a deep water lifeguard at Blizzard Beach in 1995 and filled in at Typhoon Lagoon and River Country when we had enough gaurds at Blizzard Beach. I have to tell you that guarding the wave pools or the lake at river country is no easy task. I felt like I was on a game show many a days ready to hit the Emergency Stop and go in. The E-Stop stops the waves at the wave pool to make a rescue easier for the guards. I have to say I've pulled out more kids and adults out of the wave pools than anywhere else in any of the parks. It isn't an easy job. The pools are crowded and hard to determine when someone is playing round or really needs help. I've gone in on many false alarms but I have to know at the end of the day that everyone was safe on my shift. I don't know about now, but when I was a guard for Disney the training was intense. I actually called home and told my parents I thought Disney was trying to kill me while training. We did two weeks worth of rescue training from 6:30am until 6:30 pm in a 7ft deep pool. That means you tred water the whole time as I am only 5'2''. We did 50 warm up laps every morning, and the rest was training with a one hr. lunch. We ever did brick resucues to the bottom of a 15 foot diving well. Besides training you are audited at disney by Elis and Associates one what you know, and they are surprise audits so it keeps you on your toes and fresh. Anyhow, just thought I'd tell you those guards earn there money!

I can second the above. I worked for Ellis and Associates as a lifeguard trainer for several years. I worked in a park larger that TL and BB for about 20 years. dlrhine, you have probably seen me in the E&A training video.

Another thing that should be mentioned is that an E & A lifeguard has to follow a 20/20 rule. That is, the guard has 20 seconds to spot the distressed swimmer and another 20 to reach the swimmer. During an audit, and you don't know that you are being audited, if you do not follow the 20/20 rule you are immediately pulled from the stand and your license revoked. The audit also tests your CPR skills as well as different water rescues.

I think we need to add a few prayers for the lifeguards who worked on this little girl. Their lives will never be the same.

 

[tekmom]

I don't know if its been mentioned but, where were the girls relatives? I understand she was vacationing with relatives. Were they in the wave pool as well or different areas of TL? As much as I trust my relatives, my kids will go on vacation with me, and only me. I can't imagine what the family is going through. How awful for everyone.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I stand corrected--she was alone..but I thought I had heard that she wasn't. The article link says otherwise.

 

[RickinNYC]

LOL Rick....I DID!!!!! I am not known for my "kind and gentle demeanor"

To her credit......she did gather her things from her coveted lounge on the beach....and slink off ......

It's pretty sad to think we live in a day when a person who is actually trying to help a kid is suspected to actually harm him/her. I understand the whole "wrath of mom" on the woman's part, but C'MON!

Kudos for watching out for the kid!