Mother issues heartbreaking ‘dry drowning’ warning after daughter’s horrific swimming pool incident

When Annie Gallagher’s five-year-old daughter briefly submerged herself in the water at her local swimming pool before coughing, she thought she had no reason to expect anything dangerous had happened.

After all, her child had continued to play in the shallow water, laughing and joking for the rest of the day, while she enjoyed the rest of her family’s summer day together.

It wasn’t until later that night that the Florida mother of three realized her little girl’s life was in danger after her health suddenly took a turn for the worse.

That evening, Annie’s daughter suddenly began complaining of not feeling well.

Noting her unusual behavior and suspecting something sinister was going on behind the scenes, she took the girl to the local hospital, where she was immediately evaluated.

The little girl underwent a chest X-ray and her oxygen measurements were taken.

But minutes later, Annie was dealt a blow: her daughter had nearly drowned after inhaling masses of water when she jumped into the pool earlier in the day.

Looking back on the incident, property developer Annie said of her little girl: “She is and has always been a good swimmer since she was raised in the water.

“She inhaled water while jumping, but she seemed fine and wanted to go back to playing, which she did.”

Annie also admitted that she was seconds away from sending her daughter to bed when she first complained of feeling unwell, but suddenly remembered reading about a similar incident online.

“I remembered an article I read on Facebook before my daughter was even born about dry drowning,” she explained.

“I called friends for advice and they tried to calm my worries, but I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling in my stomach.”

And apparently, doctors immediately praised the terrified mother for trusting her instincts, later informing the family that if they had not brought the child in for testing, the results could have been “catastrophic.”

“She had drowned. It only takes a teaspoon of water to cause inhalation pneumonia, which is what she got,” Annie revealed.

“She had begun to slowly suffocate as she drowned in her own fluids that were flooding her lungs.”

Luckily for Annie and her family, the medical team in the intensive care unit were able to find a treatment that her little girl responded to, with the heartbroken mother saying that as soon as she woke up she wanted to keep playing.

“Just seeing my daughter get out of bed or out of her wheelchair allowed me to breathe and smile with her,” she said.

“She laughed for the first time in a week, and nothing could have been more beautiful than that moment.”

Seven days later, Annie’s daughter was released from the hospital.

Now, seven years after that heartbreaking incident, the brave mum says she has continued to use her experience to warn other parents about the dangers of dry drowning.

Annie, whose daughter is now 12, added: “She is a happy, healthy, intelligent and empathetic young woman now and I am sure we will have more challenges to face – that’s life.

“I want parents to know that these things happen. But more than anything, as a parent, trust your instincts.

“Mine saved my daughter’s life.”