Dry drowning has taken the life of a 4-year-old boy in Texas, a week after he went swimming.
Francisco Delgado Jr., took his son Frankie and the rest of his family to the Texas City Dike near Galveston over Memorial Day weekend. It was a typical day and Frankie was completely fine when he got out of the water.
Shortly afterward, Frankie experienced symptoms that resembled a stomach bug. For days, he had bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. A week later, he stopped breathing.
“Out of nowhere, he just woke up. He said ahhh,” Delgado said. “He took his last breath and I didn’t know what to do.”
The father called 911 but doctors weren’t able to revive him. They told the family Frankie had fluid in his lungs and around his heart. The boy died from dry drowning.
Mom Tara Delgado said he was only in knee-deep water.
The parents now suspect that Frankie must have swallowed water, but they never noticed him coughing or in any distress, which are often crucial indicators that someone has accidentally inhaled a small amount of water through the mouth or nose, causing their airway to spasm.
This serves as a shattering reminder for parents to always keep watch over their children in the pool, as they could possibly miss the warning signs.
“There are no words to describe how heartbroken we are over the passing of Baby Frankie,” the family wrote on their GoFundMe page, which is raising money for the unexpected funeral costs. “He had so much life to live.”