I turned my back for two minutes, then I saw my toddler face down in the water

“I knew to watch him; I knew to be careful. But I did not know the extent to how dangerous and how fast your child can drown,” says mum BrieOcea.

Alexandra Feiam

3 min read

January 22, 2024 - 11:27AM

Parents urged to learn CPR after toddler drowns in backyard pool

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BrieOcea and her two-and-a-half-year-old son Romeo were only in their apartment complex for a few minutes when her toddler saw another child playing in the spa.

The 26yo mum always kept an eye on her toddler; she knew the dangers of leaving them alone to their own devices, especially around water.

But when he disappeared from her sight for three short minutes, her world turned upside down.

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Romeo was found face-down in the water. Source: brieocea/Instagram

“I knew to watch him; I knew to be careful.”

It was Friday, July 1, 2022, when the Californian mum and son were walking through their apartment.

“I would take Romeo swimming in the apartment complex almost daily,” BrieOcea told the 10Ninety podcast.

Romeo couldn’t swim but was a big fan of wearing floaties in the water. He spotted another child playing in the nearby hot tub, and BrieOcea walked towards the child’s mum, sitting on a nearby bench.

“I sit and talk with her for maybe two or three minutes, and I say out loud, ‘Where’s Romeo?’” she recalled.

She couldn’t see him anywhere, so she stood up and scanned the area, only seeing the older child sitting upright in the spa.

As she walked forward, she saw her toddler face-down in the water.

“I knew to watch him; I knew to be careful,” she said. “But I did not know the extent to how dangerous and how fast your child can drown.”

Romeo was in a coma for three days, but doctor found no brain activity. Source: brieocea/Instagram

BrieOcea immediately performed CPR on Romeo as a crowd gathered around her. She was screaming as his body started convulsing and his face turned blue.

Soon, the paramedics arrived, and he was taken to the hospital, where he was plunged into a coma. Sadly, after several tests, doctors informed Romeo’s parents there was no brain activity.

“Because it was hot water he drowned in, we were told by multiple different doctors and neurologists that there was no hope,” she said, per the family’s GoFundMe page.

Three days after the tragic incident, the heartbroken family made the difficult decision to switch off life support.

“I think about him needing his mum and trying to scream for me,” BrieOcea said. “And I’m literally right there, and I didn’t know, and I wasn’t there for him.”

Romeo's life support was switched off three days after the tragic accident. Source: GoFundMe

It only takes 20 seconds for a child to drown

Drowning is one of the leading accidental deaths for Australian kids.

It only takes 20 seconds and a few centimetres of water for a child to drown.

“Children are at their most vulnerable to drowning when they start walking, so from around their first birthday,” Justin Scarr, CEO of Royal Life Saving Australia, told Kidspot.

“Tragically, we see a huge spike in one-year-olds drowning that doesn’t reduce until they children turn four years, by which point many have developed swimming skills.”

Devastatingly, 282 children aged from zero to four have drowned in a pool between 2002 and 2022. Queensland reported the highest number of drownings, with 184, followed by NSW, with 164.

“As children become more mobile, they are curious and unpredictable,” Justin continued.

“It is vital you keep constant watch and restrict access to water around the home. We are reminding parents that ‘Kids can’t help themselves around water, you need to. Keep Watch.”