Have you known anyone thats drowned? How did it affect you?

I was about eight years old and we had gone to a friends cottage way out in the middle of nowhere. It was along a canal. We had a cookout with steak and all the trimmings. Everyone was having a good time. Then they decided to go to town to a bar. They had a bunch of drinks and then came back to the cottage. It was hot so one of the ladies decided to go for a swim. I remember it just like it was yesterday. I watched her struggle a bit and then she was gone. Some of the other people tried to jump in to save her but they were all drunk to, except my mom who couldn't swim. I was in some sort of trance. My mom had to drag me away to go find help as there was no phone there. We finally found a phone but it was way too late. I remember watching them drag the canal for her body. They did find her. Everyone was exhausted so we ended up staying there for the night. It was one of the worst nights of my life. I am sorry about your losses also. Drowning seems like such a horrible way to go.

OMG that's so horrible! I'm so sorry! I don't think I've known anyone who's drowned. I almost drowned one time when I was a kid and hadn't learned to swim yet. Obviously, I didn't drown. A friend of the family jumped in and pulled me out. I still remember that day very well. Or well... not the day, but I remember the whole incident.

No, thankfully, but before I learnt to swim I came close to drowning, I was on a friends lilo and it suddenly overturned and I was plunged into the water, it felt like I was under the water for ages when it was probably only seconds, it was a horrible experience and like most people I panicked which made things worse, thankfully my friend jumped in and rescued me but it was a close call, I made sure I got swimming lessons afterwards, thankfully it didn't put me off water.

I worked with a teenager in a department store about 29 years ago. She was bubbly and full of life. Her mother was friends with my mother. The girl went with her sister for a swim in a local pond on a hot summer's day. The pond was fed by a spring and the current was cold and stronger than the young girl could handle. She struggled to get to the surface of the water. Her sister dove in after her, but had to push her off because she was pulling her under with her. I often envisioned the look of panic on her face and the grief that her sister had suffered from not being able to save her.

Yes, I was devastated. When I was at primary school one of my best friends Ian Pathy drowned in the Werribee river while swimming with some of my other friends. He dove in and never came up again, he got stuck under a tree. I still think of him and the fun we had together when I pass this bit of the river.

When I was 5 my best friends younger cousin (he was 3) wandered away from the baby sitter and drowned in a shallow pond on the property. I didnt really understand it at the time, but I still remember all of the sadness. And now that I am a mother, it will always be something in my mind.