TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The sound of splashing and laughter at a public pool should bring joy, but for Tucson mother Rose Bennett, it’s a reminder of a life-changing moment.
KGUN 9 spoke with Bennett at the Marana Aquatic Center, where hundreds of kids were swimming and playing in the pool.
"When I see somebody go under and they don't come up right away, I start to panic a little bit," Bennett said.
Sixteen years ago, Bennett dropped off her then 6-year-old son, Ethan, at summer day camp before heading to work at University Medical Center.
"Then the next time I saw him, he was being wheeled into UMC," she recalled.
Ethan had nearly drowned at a pool that the camp took the kids to.
“No lifeguards, no swim vests, nothing. And he drowned,” Bennett said.
Ethan survived but suffered a traumatic brain injury from a lack of oxygen, leaving him nonverbal and quadriplegic.
"It was actually probably one of the hardest things I ever had to go through," Bennett said. "Just like seeing his body trying to like, remap and redo everything and learning to do things again is very, very hard."
Since then, Bennett has become an advocate for drowning prevention, working with Safe Kids and the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona. She is determined to protect other families from similar trauma.
“If you're taking a good look at this, and you don't want this and you don't want to get up every two hours in the night to turn them, turn your child so they don't have bed sores. If you don't want to deal with G-tubes and machines and briefs and all of this stuff, just watch your kids,” she said, referring to now 22-year-old Ethan, who is bound to a wheelchair. “This is 100% preventable, 100%.”
Bennett stresses that if a child is doggy paddling or trying to hold on to the pool rails, they are not truly swimming, and that’s when a life vest is essential.
"There’s so many resources, there’s free swimming lessons, free CPR lessons," Bennett said.
The message hits close to home: Last year, the Tucson Fire Department says they responded to nine drowning incidents, eight involving children. Three of the incidents were fatal. Two of the fatalities were children.
That’s why Bennett urges families to remember the ABCs of drowning prevention: Adult supervision, Barriers, and Classes.
"My goal is to just help one other family," Bennett said. “If one other family doesn’t have to go through what we’re going through, then it’s worth it.”
Because as she says, “Swimming is a lot of fun if you do it smart and you do it safe.”
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Maria Staubs joined KGUN 9 as a multimedia journalist and producer in July of 2024. Her passion for writing and storytelling stems from anchoring her middle school’s news show and editing her high school’s yearbook. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication with a minor in film and media production, as well as a master's degree in mass communication. You can email Maria at maria.staubs@kgun9.com or reach out to her on X/Twitter or Instagram.
