Preventing childhood drowning
Katie Reichert's intensive six-week ISR training
I met Katie and James about 15 years ago through a mutual friend. At that time they had Olivia, who is the same age as my oldest son Charles, Anna who is the same age as my middle son George and a few years later Ben came along who is about 6 months older than my youngest son Henry. I spent quite a bit of time with Katie and James at gatherings with friends for holidays and fun weekend outings.
In June of 2016, I got the heartbreaking phone call that Katie and James had "lost Anna". I was in complete shock and disbelief and couldn't understand what they meant by "lost Anna". We were just hanging out with Katie and all of our kids a few days before in my backyard. How does something like this happen so quickly? My friend went on to tell me the awful circumstances of that dreadful day in June of 2016.
Throughout the next few months I couldn't get Anna out of my mind. How does a young child drown in a public pool with so many people around? This should never happen to anyone. ever. I researched how many child drownings happen every year and the number was astonishing to me. I realized that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children in the US under the age of 4. Something had to be done to educate adults and children in water safety self rescue so this never happens again.
Over the next few years Katie and I talked a lot about how I could get involved with 4 ANNA Foundation but the timing had to be right, I had to wait until my boys got a little bit older so that I could be away from home more frequently. Fast forward to 2024, My boys are finally older and I was ready to start a new career path. I was ready to turn my passion for saving lives into a career to save lives. I talked to Katie and we both decided the timing was perfect for me to formally join 4 ANNA Foundation and do everything I could to help spread the mission that Katie and James had been doing for the last 8 years.
I am so proud to announce that 4 ANNA Foundation is sponsoring me to travel to Naples, Florida to become an ISR certified instructor in March of 2025. I will complete an intense one-on-one 6 week course with a Master Instructor. Upon completion I will put my passion in saving lives in full swing by bringing it to the western suburbs of chicago specifically Downers Grove and Glen Ellyn.
As an ISR instructor- I will teach kids age 6 months and older self-rescue skills and survival swimming. The content and method of lesson delivery is what sets it apart from traditional swim lessons. At a minimum, students of ISR will learn to roll over and float on their back to rest or until help arrives. Students who are older and more competent will learn to roll back to a swimming position and alternate this series until they reach safety (called the swim-float-swim sequence). ISR lessons are delivered five days per week, for ten minutes each, over the course of approximately six weeks. This might seem wildly inconvenient, but it’s best practice for this work. The short lessons ensure that kids don’t become fatigued, and the daily repetition helps to instill muscle memory.
In addition to lessons, I will align with 4 ANNA Foundation in preventing childhood drownings by increasing awareness of water safety by educating parents and children on knowing the dangers that come with water, teach survival skills and how to create a safer environment around water, for example saying NO to puddle jumpers and floaties. Together we will empower families with the knowledge and tools to ensure water safety for every child.
I am so grateful to be partnering with Katie and James through the 4 ANNA Foundation. I have waited a while in choosing my next career path and I believe this is going to be my mission for the rest of my life. I love being around babies and small children and being able to do that while creating a safer environment around water while teaching life saving swim lessons and survival skills is going to be profoundly fulfilling.
