Boy Dies During Nap, Possibly From Secondary Drowning

10-year-old Johnny Jackson died last week while taking a nap in his house from “asphyxiation due to drowning”—-according to today’s ABC News, Johnny may have died from secondary drowning. Johnny, who had attention deficit disorder and autism, had been playing in the neighborhood pool for about 45 minutes. He was wearing flotation devices on his arms and was being monitored by his mother, Cassandra Jackson, and other adults. She noted that he was “taking a little bit of water in and coughing and then calming down” but that everything seemed fine. But then:

But less than two hours after getting out of the pool, Johnny had defecated in his pants twice and was complaining of being tired.

After being bathed and dressing himself, Johnny walked to his bed unaided, leading his mother to believe that he was simply tired from playing in the water.

But shortly after leaving him to nap, Jackson discovered her son unconscious and his face covered in a foam-like substance.

“My friend went back into the room where Johnny was sleeping and noticed what appeared to be cotton balls stuffed in his nose,” Jackson said of what turned out to be the foam from his nose and mouth. “She asked if I put them there and I said no — I went in and saw him and screamed for help.

“I rolled him over and his body was very limp and I realized he’d soiled himself again and was very purplish-blue looking,” said Jackson, who then called 9-1-1. “His tongue was really swollen, too.”

Johnny suffered from cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, his mother said, and was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad examined Johnny’s body after the incident and told ABCNEWS.com that the preliminary autopsy showed the cause of death was asphyxiation due to drowning. Rhoad added that the boy had a lot of water in his lungs.

The ABC News story notes that, in secondary drowning, a secondary injury is caused to the lung when only a small amount of water—-only four ounces or about six teaspoons—-gets into the lungs.

My son’s a good swimmer but I never sit around and read magazines when we’re at the pool; while I don’t always get in the water anymore, I’m always watching him and following him around. Many years ago, an autism consultant told us about a family whose son was also a great swimmer. They had a pool in their backyard and one day—with both parents eating breakfast beside the pool—-their son drowned. The consultant emphasized that “this kid was a fabulous swimmer,” and that you never can be too careful in the water. Never.

I think I’ll be contacting my YMCA to ask about instructing their lifeguards in assisting autistic and special needs kids in the pool. Spending time in the water is so important for my son and we’ve got too take every precaution.