Foundation assists after tragedy strikes

Two-year-old Derrick was as curious and resourceful as any other kid his age.

His parents were renting a house in Ahwatukee Foothills at the time and had the necessary obstacles in place to prevent the toddler from getting out the back door and into the pool area.

There were three separate locks on the patio door, a lock on the doggy door and a fence 4 feet tall that blocked passage to the area where they were.

But even with all the hurdles to prevent tragedy, there was one discrepancy that the parents did not expect: the dog had broken the lock on the doggy door.

On the morning of Jan. 13, 2007, the Williamsons awoke to begin their day just like any other. Grace was resting in bed after having gotten up early to take a friend to the airport and John was up making coffee. Their two children were awake and watching television in the living room. John retreated to the home office to finish some work.

The events that took place in the next couple minutes would forever change their lives. Derrick wandered away from the television set. He somehow scaled the 4-foot wall and escaped through the broken doggy door.

After realizing he was missing they searched the house in a wave of panic. The Williamsons realized that there was one place they had not investigated.

They found Derrick floating face-down in the pool outside. He did not have a pulse.

The family drove to the urgent care center that was less than a block from their home. Grace drove and John performed CPR on the way, which may have saved young Derrick's life.

Derrick spent the next three months at different Valley hospitals to determine the best course of rehabilitation. He had suffered severe neurological trauma from the event and rehabilitation would not come cheap, even with insurance.

Now, more than a year later, Derrick suffers from blindness and is kept alive by a feeding tube.

Cases like Derrick's are more common than a fatal infant drowning. According to Denise Pitts of the Halo Foundation, for every one infant death due to drowning, there are nine nonfatal drownings in Arizona.

Although all cases are not as severe as Derrick's, any trauma experienced by a toddler can require months, and even years, of physical and mental therapy to correct.

The Halo Foundation is a nonprofit organization that assists families like the Williamsons after such an event.

They are a resource in helping locate additional financial support as well as pointing families in the right direction of specialists depending on the condition and severity of the drowning victim.

"After a nonfatal drowning, parents do not take home the same boy or girl from the swimming pool," Pitts said. "A few years ago, I looked around and realized there were really no support groups for families who had experienced such a traumatic event."

Pitts and her husband Daren began the Halo Foundation three years ago when they lived in Ahwatukee Foothills. They have since proved to be an invaluable resource to families in the Phoenix area.

"There is a huge financial and caretaking responsibility for these families," she said. "We want to make families aware that we are out there and that we can help."

A neurologist at Phoenix Children's Hospital said that it only takes minutes without oxygen to create life-long struggles for an infant.

"When the heart stops, that is the key point in time," said Paul Bakerman, associate director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Phoenix Children's Hospital. "The irreversible effects happen after that."

Bakerman said that infants such as Derrick suffer from Hypoxemia, which is when the bloodstream lacks a sufficient amount of oxygen.

When someone is experiencing Hypoxemia, their brain is first affected in the cortex, where the ability to think, talk and walk is controlled. The central part of the brain is preserved for a longer period, which controls the ability to breathe, among other functions.

"Whenever I hear of a child in ‘critical condition' I know that the majority of the time they will have a significant brain injury," Bakerman said. "It usually is known within a day or so the extent of the injury."

Pitts said that the months of rehabilitation in a hospital can cost upwards of $500,000. Health insurance helps, but there is also the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System that can provide support.

"(Halo Foundation) gives a compass, they act as a light pointing toward the best route to follow," John Williamson said. "Most of these other support groups don't center on the specific experience of a near-drowning victim, whereas it is their area of expertise."

If you or someone you know has experienced a similar traumatic event and needs assistance, contact the Halo Foundation at (602) 617-3935 or visit www.thehalofoundation.org.

Editor's Note: For privacy purposes, the names of the family members involved have been changed.

Contact writer: (480) 898-7916 or troemhild@ahwatukee.com.