Mónica Fernández, TOTI, started working on drowning prevention with her own kids, now 15 and 14. Being a triathlon world champion, she wanted her kids to learn how to swim at an early age. She researched “Drowning”, and luckily turned to statistics that showed that drowning was the leading cause of death in children 1 to 4 and second in children 5 to 14. Being surrounded by water, she realized that she needed to teach her kids to FLOAT. Her friends, when they saw her kids performing “self-rescue skills”, asked her to teach their kids and that is how Baby Survival Swim was born. Monica developed a self-rescue program and has being teaching for over 14 years with may testimonials of kids that saved themselves floating and asking for help in different drowning situations. She became an activist on drowning prevention.
As she calls them “the layers of protection”. Monica decided to give CPR courses as part of saving that drowning victim’s life (post event). She started specializing in the latest protocols of drowning. The drowning victim still has a chance if proper CPR is performed. She became an EMT teaching how to save a life through: “PREVENTION”: Fences, alarms, door locks, supervision. The “DURING EVENT” to prepare a child with “water competency skills” (the ability to float and/or turn to the edge and swim). The “POST-EVENT” or the prehospital treatment for a drowning patient explained in a simple way so that the first person there can stop the drowning process while the ambulance gets there. Drowning is fast and silent and the brain dies in 10 minutes without oxygen. Education is key. Give the victim “The breath of life”.
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