Parents who lost child to pool accident say pandemic could make swimming more dangerous
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A Minnesota couple who lost their daughter to a pool accident is concerned the pandemic could make swimming more dangerous this summer.
In 2007, Abbey Taylor suffered a horrific injury at a public wading pool in Minneapolis after she unknowingly sat on an unsafe drain that suctioned her small intestine from her body. She died nine months later, on March 20, 2008.
Since that day, her parents, Scott and Katie Taylor, have been fighting for changes.
"That little girl asked me to do something, and I will not fail her again," Scott Taylor said. "I’m gonna make sure that her message is out there, always and often."
In the past year, thanks to COVID-19 and social distancing, backyard pool and hot tub sales surged roughly 400%.
Push for pool safety during pandemic
Experts fear the growth in home pools will lead to more drownings. In Florida, youth drownings rocketed 70% last year alone.
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Now, there’s a nationwide push for pool safety. The Taylors put out a public service announcement that shows how quickly a drowning can happen when supervision is distracted — even more important now when parents are working from home.
"You’re working at home," Katie Taylor said. "You can’t have active supervision when you’re working at home. You can’t."
The Taylors say the push for water safety should include multiple layers of protection. That means not only getting kids in swim lessons and having them trained on water safety but also having barriers of entry, which could mean walls surrounding all sides of the pool or a hard cover on top.
Abbey would have turned 20 this spring, and the Taylors can’t help but replay the what-ifs of that terrible day.
"Even 13, 14 years later, it gets more manageable but does not necessarily get easier," Scott Taylor said.
Resources on pool safety and education are available at the Abbey’s Hope Charitable Foundation website.