MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — Two-year-old Cameron Gilland is learning critical survival swim skills after a frightening incident last summer when she fell into a friend's pool.
"Cameron was by the pool playing with some toys, and I saw the toy drop in, and Cameron went to reach for it, and when I told her not to, she fell into the pool, and she was floating on the bottom, so I had to jump in with all my clothes on and save her," Cameron's mother Brooke Gilland said.
Survival Swim instructor Katie Trotman understands that fear all too well.
Her own daughter Nora was revived after wandering into a pool at a friend's birthday party on Father's Day five years ago on June 21, 2020.
"I kind of heard a voice in my head that said Nora's in the pool go get her," said Trotman. "So I stood up, and I said, 'Where's Nora? Go check the pool.'"
"She was pulled from the water, no heartbeat, completely lifeless. We had two nurses on scene, actually, at the birthday, who began CPR immediately. I called 911, paramedics arrived, got her heartbeat about about 12 minutes later, it was a faint heartbeat. They didn't see any eye movement, nothing, no signs of life," Trotman said.
Nora was miraculously released from the hospital 17 days later. The Trotman family knows they are among the fortunate ones.
Three children have drowned in the area in just the last two weeks.
"I really feel for them, and I have shed tears because I can feel their pain in a way I would never have been able to feel it if Nora didn't have, you know, her accident. So I really feel for the families, you know it makes me so sad," Trotman said. "It happens to the best parents. It's just a misunderstanding of water safety."
Trotman works through her grief with support groups while teaching Survival Swim lessons to children like Cameron. She's been teaching since 2023. She has also taught Nora and her sisters to swim.
"It [Survival Swim] teaches water competence before it teaches the confidence. So, it gives them that last chance of survival. We want them to know the safety, know what to do, and then really love the water," said Trotman.
Experts recommend multiple layers of protection to prevent drowning, including water competency, barriers and alarms around pools, constant supervision, CPR training, and life jackets. However, they caution against depending solely on any single safety measure.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
