P.E.I. boy who nearly drowned recovering well, says mother

The six-year-old boy who nearly drowned at a pool in Eldon, P.E.I., last month is recovering well, but his mother still wants more to be done.

MaggieWang says her son, Henry, spent three days in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital with a fever and double vision but is now feeling well. Wang says it was an incredibly frightening experience for her.

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"The first time that I saw my son on the chair at the hospital, all the lines, you know, lots of lines on his body ... And his eye was red. It was really really hard for me," she said.

"At that time I had no idea what drowning mean. I thought just drink some water on the pool you know?" she said with a shaking voice. "I was told my son at that time, didn't have breath, no heart beat."

Possible permanent damage

Wang said doctors at the QEH recommended she keep a close eye on him and that her son should have what she calls an intelligence test in a year or two to be sure no permanent damage was done.

Wang's son was at the pool on July 20 with his daycare, run by Sperenza, when he ran into trouble. Staff with Sperenza pulled him from the water and revived him before the ambulance arrived.

I was told my son at that time, didn't have breath, no heart beat.- Maggie Wang

According to Sperenza, staff had told the boy to not swim in the deep water because he did not pass a swimming test,but later worried that language may have been a problem in communicating that message.

According to an incident report prepared by Sperenza and provided to CBC News by the organization,staff had another child translate for Henry that he was to stay in the shallow end.

Wang said her son told her he wanted to be with a friend who is nine and speaks his language, so he followed the boy into deep water. That information was also in the incident report. Wang said her son told her he asked repeatedly for a lifejacket but was told no.

Sperenza explained their policy in the same incident report.

"We do not rely on lifejackets, floaties, life vests, etc. as a substitute for supervision," it reads.

"Many flotation devices are unreliable. They may not be safety approved and the risk is that children can slip out of them unnoticed if they do not fit properly, or they do not flip the child onto his or her back if they fall in. Essentially, there is no substitute for direct supervision. Non-swimmers need to stay where they can touch, period."

Still angry

But Wang doesn't feel there was enough supervision at the camp and believes if there was, someone should have been able to prevent this from happening.

Do you think it is enough? It's not. Because if you have enough counsellors, you have enough lifeguards they should keep an eye on kids.- MaggieWang

Sperenza was abiding by provincial regulations, and says that some of their staff are trained as lifeguards. Sperenza said it had 11 staff working at the site for 43 children that day. Wang said she's still angry over what happened and doesn't understand how it could have occurred if proper supervision was in place.

"They think they have enough people, that they have enough counsellors, they have lifeguards that is enough. Do you think it is enough? It's not. Because if you have enough counsellors, you have enough lifeguards they should keep an eye on kids," she said.

"I really don't want any other mother, any other kids go through what I went through."

The Child Care Facilities Board said they continue to work with Sperenza on their investigation into this incident.

CBC News contacted Sperenza for an update on Wednesday but did not hear back from the organization.

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