My oldest daughter is an Air Traffic Controller (ATC). No, those aren't the guys with orange wands who guide planes to the gate. These are professionals who sit at radar scopes and instruct aircraft on what altitude and direction…
In 2017, in this column, I recounted almost drowning in Grand Isle. I had messed up by drinking a beer before going in and swimming against a strong current but got this important thing right: I had a lifeguard. My friend Dayle…
My cousin has three daughters, and a pool. He and his wife knew the drowning risks, so when they had kids they made this rule: no going in the backyard without a life jacket on, whether the girls were going in the pool or not. …
The Louisiana Health Department has made child drowning prevention a priority for 2017, since our state has the second highest rate in the nation. Though I always cared deeply about this, it' now more important for me since I…
My college required students to take four blocks of Physical Education, much like high school, except we chose the sports. We also had to pass a swim test to graduate. My roommate Brian, who'd never learned to swim, had to use…
This week's guest columnists are Dr. Kevin Morris and Dr. Richard Pearson, Family Practice residents at the University Health Center here in Lafayette. Dr. Morris is a former paramedic, and knows of what he speaks: It's warming…
One day the ambulance brought in a 13 year-old who had almost drowned in a local hotel pool. He was awake on arrival, but everyone had a good scare. The pool had a deep end but no lifeguard. The boy could not swim, the parents…
My wife grew up here in Lafayette, and has more than one story about teenage friends and acquaintances dying in boating accidents. With teenagers, of course there was alcohol involved. As a Pediatric Emergency Medicine doctor, I…
This morning Tracy Wirtz and I talked about drowning prevention. Whenever I talk about drowning the worst cases I have seen come to mind, but also the silliest. One day I was in the Emergency Room when the ambulance brought in a…
