Traylynn McCallum (centre) surrounded by Parkland staff who responded her near-drowning. From left: paramedic Kolby Ellis, paramedic Levon Nagy, McCallum, paramedic Cory Kulcheski and telecommunications specialist Danielle Henry. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Water safety

Drowning prevention: Families reflect on scary incidents

Jul 31, 2020 | 5:28 PM

The family of a young survivor of a near-drowning incident and Parkland Ambulance Care staff are celebrating the quick actions of two bystanders and sharing a powerful message about water safety.

Parkland Director of Public Affairs, Lyle Karasiuk, explained emergency responders received a call on the evening of July 14 about an unconscious child at a Prince Albert hotel pool. Five-year-old Traylynn McCallum had gone into cardiac arrest while drowning.

Bystander Celest Okemasyim called 9-1-1, as Mitchell Shott pulled McCallum from the water. They started CPR and by the time paramedics arrived the little girl was awake.

Traylynn McCallum recieves a gift bag from Cory Kulcheski who was one of the first paramedics on the scene after her near-drowning two weeks ago. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Although the rescuers couldn’t attend the gathering at Parkland Ambulance on Friday, Karasiuk thanked them for their brave actions.

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“Those people are truly instrumental in making today the happy occasion that it is,” Karasiuk told reporters.

Traylynn’s mother, Tara McCallum expressed her gratitude to both the bystanders and Parkland Ambulance.

She explained on the evening of the incident, her daughter was anxious to go swimming, but the family was finishing eating. She let Traylynn’s older brother take her to the pool and planned to follow shortly after.

“It can happen really quickly,” she told paNOW. “Within a minute they can drown.”

Paramedic Sherri Morrison says it’s important to educate children about water safety. Don’t play around water if you can’t see the bottom, she said. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

Paramedic Sherri Morrison experienced a similar event last week, when her six-year-old son fell off a dock as she was loading a boat onto a trailer. His older brother was able to pull him back onto the dock coughing and crying.

“It can happen to anybody in a split second. I still get a little emotional about it,” she told media. “The next day there was a tragedy that happened in the North. It really hit home, that could have been me.”

Morrison and McCallum both emphasized the importance of never letting children out of your sight around water.

“Stay close and have eyes on them,” Morrison said.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom