Story told by his little sister, Gabrielle Watson.
On July 3rd, 2020, we were on a family vacation on an island in North Carolina. Myself, my Dad and Chandler were all swimming in the resort pool, playing the familiar game of seeing how far we could swim from one end of the pool to the other without taking a breath. Mom, Addi (older sister) and Erin (Chandler’s wife) were watching from their pool chairs. Grahm (little brother) had just left the pool to get out of the sun for the day. Chan said he could go from one end to the other without taking a breath. Understand, this is a game we play all the time so nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Chan grabbed scuba goggles and was off underwater. And he did it, going from pool end to pool end without a breath.
After Chan touched the wall, he stayed underwater, sitting at the bottom. My dad and I saw bubbles at the surface and thought that he was just seeing how much longer he could last holding his breath. My mother was visibly worried and upset (thank God for “mother’s intuition”); and started saying, “someone needs to get him up now!” My dad and I insisted he was fine, as we saw bubbles come to the surface of the pool. About 20 seconds passed and finally, dad went to pull Chandler up and instantly knew something was wrong. He was limp and lifeless and the second my dad lifted him up, we saw his grey skin and blue lips.
Chandler’s heart had stopped.
My dad immediately started mouth to mouth in the pool as we carried his lifeless body to the stairs. Mom screamed for help and Erin and Addi got up in shock. Once we got to the stairs, there was a man who let us know he was an ICU doctor. He immediately started chest compressions on Chandler, yelling out that he didn’t have a pulse. In the midst of all this happening, another doctor who was a cardiologist came over and assisted. Between the compressions and mouth to mouth, they pumped and worked on him for what felt like a lifetime. I cannot put into words how traumatic this was to witness. This went on for five minutes, Chandler‘s body not responding with no heartbeat, no pulse.
Everyone was doing everything they could as we waited for paramedics to come. Erin was unable to move on the ground as my mom tried to comfort her. My Dad stayed next to Chandler, two other ladies ran up to Addi and were holding her, and I was handed a phone to talk to the 911-dispatcher to tell them what was happening. Everything moved in slow motion as Chandler was not responding. After the long minutes of CPR, the doctors placed the defibrillators on his chest to begin use. Just before using the defibrillator the two doctors yelled out they had a pulse.
Immediately after Chandler came back to us, he was ferried off the island by the medics and taken to a local hospital. The doctors at the hospital then monitored him for six hours. They told us that Chandler was a victim of something called “shallow water drowning” or “shallow water blackout.” The prolonged lack of oxygen caused his brain to shut down without warning, and he went into immediate cardiac arrest.
We had never heard of shallow water drowning. The fatality rate of this kind of incident is over 90% because there are simply no signs of distress. This specific type of drowning kills 4x faster than normal drowning. As you hold your breath for long periods of time you are not in pain or distress and it plays a trick on the mind. The effect is immediate when your lungs reach their limit. Chandler is young, fit, and a competent swimmer, exactly the type of person that is most likely to succumb to this phenomenon.
When we hold our breath, oxygen levels in the bloodstream decrease. Usually the carbon dioxide rises in our body to a certain degree, telling us we need to breathe. But when you continuously and deliberately hold your breath, it keeps the carbon dioxide levels in the body extremely low, blocking the brain’s signal to breathe. To put it simply, you blackout before you realize what is happening.
(Click here to learn more about how a shallow water blackout happens)
As a family, we think about how many times we play pool games and how families and friends we know do the same. We just want people to know what happened so this never happens to someone they love. Please let your loved ones know. In fact, tell EVERYONE you know.
We are in awe of the mercy and kindness of God. The Lord placed people at the pool that day to save his life. The two doctors at the resort pool, in the middle of a pandemic with a required reservation for 50% capacity was God’s perfect timing. There were people at the scene audibly praying out loud for Chandler to breathe again. One of the doctors told us it was a last-minute decision for his family to go to the pool that day. The Lord orchestrated this whole day and we are forever thankful. We believed in those excruciating minutes we had lost Chandler. It was an experience none of us could have ever imagined on such a perfect family day.
Chandler does not remember anything about the incident. In the last month, Chandler has gone through a series of tests with cardiologists and other doctors in Annapolis. Everything has come back clear and they informed us Chandler’s heart is very healthy.
We are so thankful for the Lord‘s hand of protection and knowing He was with us the whole time. He gave us a miracle right before our eyes. Chandler was dead and he is now alive, and we could not be more thankful. Dr. Mark Piehl and Dr. Idil Aktan were true angels at the pool that day. We are continually reminded of the importance of family, of taking in every moment we have with the people we love. We have seen first-hand the fragility of life and how God is the only one who knows the days of our lives.
Chan’s heart has a beat and The Lord is not done with his story. Please be praying for Chan, Erin and the whole family as we move forward. Please share this story with others: your children, neighbors and even strangers. With love and gratitude,
The Watson Family
Comments
77 responses to “Young Man Suffers a Shallow Water Blackout While on Vacation”
Wow! Thank God in Heaven Chandler is okay and for those doctors put in his way!! We definitely can not take life for granted! Sending prayers to the Watson Family!
Im so thankful hes okay ❤💯god deff was with him & the angels was watching over him much love marsha allison❤💯
Thank God for that hedge of protection surrounding your son. Im so glad you’re family circle was not broken. I played the same game as a kid and never heard of this happening.
I have been in aquatics for over 40 years. I am a director who is conservative.
If a navy seals candidate contacts us to train in our pool…I schedule an additional guard to watch just that swimmer.
We too, as a family play this in our pool, as well as hotel/resort pools! We will not be playing it anymore!!! Thank you, I had never heard of this. God bless your family 💙
I used to do this as a young girl and even as an adult. I won’t ever do it again and I won’t ever let my grandbabies do it. Thank you for sharing your story and God bless your son!🙏❤
My husband and I lost one of our dearest friends a few years ago to shallow water drowning. He was snorkeling on the shallow beaches in Hawaii. His death was attributed to the snorkeling equipment that he had rented on the beach that day. Several other deaths occurred at that same beach that summer, and were linked to “full face” snorkel masks. Please be warned-these should be taken off of the market! Praise God for sparing your life-make it a mission to save others. My dearly love friend was not so lucky. We miss you Brian ❤️
Reading all of this, I believe I may have had a lesser but similar issue as an early teen. I had been swimming underwater in the homemade pool at the Boys Club summer camp on the new (at that time) Smith Lake in Alabama.
A half hour or so passed and it was my turn that day to qualify for the mile swim merit badge. I had a safety boat next to me as I swam across the lake and had returned coming back to where I began the swim. All of a sudden, within 20 feet of finishing the swim, everything, and I mean everything stopped working… no swim strokes, no feet movement, no breathing… just like I had forgot how to swim and BREATHE! Fortunately for me, my safety Instructor in the boat jumped into the water as I began to sink lifelessly to the bottom and saved my life. He didn’t have to do CPR but it was about half an hour before my vision returned to normal, stopped coughing up water, and everything started working again – most importantly, my breathing!
I had no idea what happened as I was a strong swimmer and in great youthful shape – until now. Maybe this was what happened to me. Also, Smith Lake is very cold – even in the middle of summer.
I’m glad everyone in your story was safe and I put my faith in God for those who are with him now.
Wow. As I was reading this the song A Bridge Over Troubled water came on the radio. It is a rock station. I have chills!
Thank you for sharing and praise the Lord for His watchcare in this situation. The same thing happened to my sons friend. They were at a party playing a similar game. One boy thought he could continue to hold his breath and blacked out my son and his friends revived the young man and the entire situation was life changing. Luckily my sons friend is restored perfectly as well. Thankful the Lord watched over them in the similar situation and thankful many people at the party were CPR certified.
Thank you Jesus!
Thank you Dear GOD for this pure MIRACLE!!! Also thank you for sharing. I had never heard of shallow water blackout!!!
Praise the Lord, and thank you for sharing
Prayers for your family and thank you for sharing your story. My family has always played water games like yours as well. Helpful information ❤️
Thank you for sharing Chandler’s story and spreading awareness.. Praying for him, that he continues to get better, and for your entire family, This was a game I played with my siblings when I was a teenager., in never knew it was dangerous.
My grandsons play this game a lot. Thank you for sharing this story. I’m sure lives will be saved
This is just terrifying. I’m thankful to God for His great mercy! Shallow drowning makes sense to me because parents of toddlers who are strong willed and hold their breath long enough are told not to worry. Once the body gets low enough on oxygen, they’ll pass out and instantly the brain signals the diaphragm to breathe again. It’s a failsafe that you can’t suffocate yourself. But under water, if you pass out and are triggered to breathe, you inhale water.
I have never heard of anyone having this. So glad Chandler is ok. Praise God for taking care of him and thank you for sharing❤
So thankful that your brother survived. God is so good and faithful.
Thank You for sharing your story it will save lives possibly myself or my family because this is a common game in our pool and it will not be played again.
Thank You again. God is so good.
I am So Happy for Chandler and his family. Unfortunately SWB happened to my nephew who was lobster diving in the keys during his college break and he was not able to be saved!!!! It’s so important to spread this word to save people in the future!
We are so sorry to hear about your family’s tragic loss of your nephew. We also lost our son so we understand. We are hoping to raise awareness and educate others through through Shallow Water Blackout Prevention to spare others our shared pain. Maybe your family can help us spread awareness since sadly you have this personal experience. We would like to understand more about the circumstances. We would love to share his story and memorial on our website.
With deepest sympathy,
Rhonda and Dusty Milner
To Shelley who’s son passed out in the bathroom after he had dived: Look into dry drowning. I read a story a long time ago about a little boy about 8, I think, who had been playing in the pool. He came home, ate dinner, and went to bed, he died in his sleep due to dry drowning. It was explained that he held just enough water in his lungs, from playing in the pool, to drown him.
This also demonstrates why you should never swim alone. Always have a buddy. Even in a pool where there are other swimmers, no one will be paying attention like someone who is with there with you.
So scary – this happened to my nephew when he was around 9 or 10 and it was almost like reading exactly how it happened with him. One second I was watching him swimming along the bottom (he was an excellent swimmer) and the next, I was thinking to myself how he could hold his breath for a long time, then I asked my daughter to go check him and it was bad. Thankfully, his dad is a nurse and took control immediately doing CPR and it was a happy ending story. My nephew is 20 now and didn’t suffer any long term effects, but it does go to show how quickly and easily someone can drown even with supervision. For this reason, it always makes me so angry when I read keyboard warriors judging parents online when a child drowns.
Praise the Lord that he survived, is healthy & that in sharing your story you may very well save lives. God bless.
I’m a lifeguard instructor and the breath holding game done by kids and adults is one of the things I educate my new lifeguards about and to stop it when they see it happening. This happens much more that most people are aware of.
I am now 80 years of age and have heard of this phenomenon. While training for scuba diving in the 1950’s we had a discussion about the danger as we were trying to extent our length of an underwater swim. We were in the YMCA pool. Nothing ever happened but we were all risking drowning by this means. It seems that there should be a massive effort to post signs at all public pools. Also signs explaining this should be available at all pool supply stores so they could be posted at private homes.
Wow!! Thank you for sharing Chan’s miraculous story . Thank you God for watching over him and his family .
That is,a,miracle god was,watching him every second
Praise be to the Lord! Great you shared to prevent more occurrences. Y’all be blessed!
What an amazing story! Have they tested his heart for irregular heartbeat such as long-QT syndrome? My nephew has it and it sounds similar. Good luck and best wishes!
Thank you for sharing. On June 18, 2020 my son was free diving. He was only At a depth of 25-20 ft which is nothing for him. He is used to diving to to 65 ft with no prob. Everything seemed fine. He shot a 50lb Cobia and was feeling great. He came home filleted his fish, had dinner and went upstairs to take a shower. We heard a thump and his girlfriend starting screaming. My husband and I ran upstairs and my son was on the shower floor unconscious. I called 911 while my husband performed cpr. My son was grayish/blue. I was in hysterics. Finally paramedics came and had to use the defibrillator on him. He was transported to the hospital where they lost him 3x on the way and he coded in the Er. It was the hardest night of my life. No one could give us any answers. No one knew if he would make it. He spent the next 4 days on life support. My world was upside down. When he did wake up he had no vision whatsoever. He was scared. He couldn’t see, had no memory of what had happened. He had cardiac arrest and with the lack of oxygen had 6 strokes. The Drs can’t find anything that would have caused this. His heart was perfect. They said looks like a perfectly healthy 20 year old heart but they did place a defibrillator/pacemaker in His heart to prevent this from occurring again. We just had genetic testing done and are awaiting results. What concerns me is I have asked all the Drs involved could this be tied to his diving and I have been told by everyone of them no. He wasn’t deep enough. Yet I’ve had 6 divers who are licensed instructors reach out to me thru Facebook and tell me that it is more common than you think. They say Drs only think this happens with scuba divers not free divers which is not true. We were told to gI’ve it a minimum of 3 months for his vision to come back and 9-12 months for my son to be himself. I’ve never prayed so hard in my life. After 2 1/2 weeks his vision came back and I would say he’s just about himself now in only 2 months. We had so much love, support and prayers behind us. My son is going to occupational and speech therapy 2 days a week. He didn’t need physical therapy. They said he was nice and strong. We do have anywhere between 4-6 drs appts a week but he is alive and I’ll take that anyway. He is my miracle. If nothing turns out genetic wise I will be digging deeper into the free diving blackouts. A neurosurgeon that is also a dive instructor said he would love to meet with us to discuss what happened to our son. I will see contact him if generics are fine. I can’t rest until I know what happened to my son. I don’t feel comfortable with him diving until I have an answer. I would love to educate other divers that this is possible and to know how to prevent it from happening to them. Thank you for sharing your story with us. This makes me believe that this is what happened to our son. I was also told that blackout can happen to to 24 hrs after the dive.
So sorry this happened to your son, praying your family. Thank you for sharing his story.
I always believe that God puts people in our lives at just the right time needed. God is so good and am thankful for a happy ending to this story.
What a great testimony! So happy that God is still performing miracles in this day and time and we can see and or hear of them! God bless all of you!
Thank you for sharing your story! I sent it to my 21 year old who has played that game all his life(seeing how long he can hold his breath without coming up for air). I am a nurse and have never heard of this. Ignore any ignorant comments and know that your story is reaching people who are thankful for the information! It may help save more lives than you will ever know!!!
The negative comments come from ignorance. Before making that type of comment you should take some time and research shallow water blackout. You have never sat beside someone in a hospital who has a 5% chance of living or you would be thinking before speaking. This happens to all ages young to old, experienced swimmers to inexperienced. It has nothing to do with who is watching you. Do some research people! Thank you for your story and I am so glad your brother is doing well. This also happened to my friend (Age 35 then) who was teaching his young son to swim/dive 9 years ago and he also survived after 16 days in ICU. It is my understanding most people do not survive this and they believe a lot of shallow water blackout instances are characterized as drownings simply because it is hard to recognize what is happening in the water.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and trying to keep others safe. So happy your brother is ok. Truly a blessing that your story turned out with a happy ending. We are long time BHI patrons and my kids and their cousins play this game often in the Club pool. They are all very strong swimmers and we never thought there was any risk associated with it. We will definitely be more diligent because of your story.
I’m appalled at the negative comments. I hope those people stop “victim shaming” and think about how insensitive their words are. What you put out there is what you get back.
Thankful the doctors were there..praise God that put them there
LILLIAN….. You’re insensitive and, frankly, ridiculous with your comment. If you can’t express kindness or support, especially when this family was clearly doing nothing wrong, please keep your negative/critical opinion to yourself.
Nettie
When will men learn to acknowledge a woman’ intuition? these men blew off a woman’s concern. A young life could have been lost.
Thank you for your story. God is indeed in control of all things and has a perfect plan for all of us . Our son too had a similar story with a cardiac arrest. God in his providence placed just the right people in his path and spared his life. We are thankful every day ! Thanks for sharing your story !
I’m glad everyone is OK but how much sense does it take for an adult not to play a "let’s see who can hold out breath the longest game" like an 8 year old that actually needs adult supervision in a swimming pool?
What a horrid comment, Lillian. Instead of condescending, how about thanking God for a miracle and this family for sharing their story? You think they haven’t learned from this? Why else would they have posted their story, but to spare others from avoiding the same innocent tragedy. Maybe try thanking them for sharing their story instead of criticizing them.
Lillian, how much common sense does it take to not be a supercilious crevice?
It is absurd to think that life can be enjoyed without some exposure to hazards. Swimming has inherent risk, whether above or below the waterline. Nearly every activity normal humans participate in has some level of risk, and there is no way to eliminate that risk without discontinuing the activities people enjoy. This story was shared to highlight a possible risk associated with underwater swimming, so that people can mitigate that possibility according to their own free will. Not so that you can showcase your condescension and ignorance.
Didn’t see where they played “let’s see who can hold our breath the longest” mentioned once in this post. They were holding their breath across the pool – adult or child anyone who has ever had any type of fun in their life at all has played this game. People try to hold their breath the longest all the time, military special ops training requires it as well. You should be ashamed for commenting with such ignorance, something that apparently requires far more common sense than you are capable of displaying.
Awesome story. Our God is amazing, and is there to guide, and protect us in time of need…THANKS BE TO GOD for His Grace, Mercy, and Kindness🙏🏻✝️❤️❤️❤️❤️So thankful Chan is okay❤️🥰
I am happy for the outcome of this event. People this is not uncommon. As a first responder I was with a marine company near Annapolis. We were called to an island for a drowning and on arrival by boat we had a man in his 40’s who was playing the game of who could hold their breath the longest. He was pulled from the water lifeless and even with an Emergency Room DR there and Paramedics with is on the boat which was on scene in less than 20 minutes he lost his life. Please be cautious and watch all involved close
WOW! Praise God! Thanks for sharing, as we play that same game. But NEVER again will I allow that.
I was so Happy to hear the Outcome! God Bless Chandler and your entire Family! Thank God for your "Angel" Doctors who were their to Help Save Chandler!!💜💜
How awesome is God. Two expert doctor’s that were there to help. Our prayers of a wholesome happy life for all. Praise our Lord.
Thanks for sharing as our family does the swimming from one end of pool to other as well. We will be sure to take extra precautions and be alert. So glad Chandler has made a full recovery.
Thanks for sharing as I will share as well. God bless your Family with many more years of time together. Thank God and all others for their blessing in saving your Brother’s life.
Praise the Lord for His mercy!
Thanks for sharing i will share also God Bless you and all the peole that help him GOD IS GOOD
Thank you for sharing your story! I’m sure it will save many lives! We used to do this when we were kids and never knew this could happen. God sent him angels that day! Sending prayers for your brother and his family.🙏🏼🙏🏼
Wow. Thank you for informing others of this danger. So glad your brother survived. And can now warn others of this possibility. God is GREAT!
That is so scary! When I was little, my friends and I would see who could swim the length of the Country Club Olympic size pool where we were members. My sisters and I were little fish! Like your brother, I swam many times from one end of the pool, turned around and swam back to the other end – without ever taking a breath. Every single time it was a struggle to hold my breath for that long, but I’d tell myself that I was almost to the end, so I kept going. It scares me after hearing your story, because how many tubes that could have been me. I’m so thankful your brother is ok, and that there were doctors there to give immediate help! And yes, always follow your mom’s intuition!!
I’ve never heard of that. Being a scuba diver, we are warned never to hold our breath because it could cause an embolism. The Lord wasn’t ready for him. He’s received a second chance. Amen!
Thank you for sharing this story! I am pretty sure that my husband and I know Dr. Mark Piehl. He’s a wonderful person so I wasn’t surprised at all to hear how he helped save your brother! ❤️
I lost my sweet , handsome, brilliant nephew Cody to ShallowWater Blackout while he was spearfishing 😭 He was a few weeks away before he started his career as a Naval Nuclear Engineer !!He was so excited ❤️ So happy this young man was able to survive !! God bless you and your family
Wow, praise God and so glad he was revived. Thanks for sharing this so we are aware of this potential danger. God bless!
Thank you Jesus our God is good this gave me chills
This exact thing happened to a friend in our backyard pool…the doctors in the ER said people who come in like he did usually don’t make it…very scary…we have shared about shallow water blackout to everyone we can!
Wow,us girls always held our breath,seeing who could hold it the longest.this story is a eye opener,for sure..i will share this with my young nieces,and nephews,mom..thank u
Thank you for sharing this. Doing so will absolutely be saving lives going forward.
As a Parent my Heart and the Lord will always be with you from York Pa.
You are so right? God was with each and every one of you in perfect timing. Thank you for sharing and I’m sure it may save others. Chandler and your family have a testimony you can share. Give all the glory to Him!
My family and I play this game all the time but never again! Thank you for sharing this! May G-d bless Chan, his family and the doctors that saved him!
So so thankful that there were doctors present. I still can’t believe this happened to you Chandler. Many prayers were said for you. 💕
This is such an amazing story. God is an everlasting presence in our times of trouble. Thankyou Lord for your love and care over this young man!
Thank you for sharing your story. I had never heard of this before and I will certainly pass it on. Praying God’s continued blessings upon your entire family!
So glad that Chandler is doing well. I continue to pray for him and your family as you raise awareness and recover from this experience.
Woody
We were there when this very unfortunate incident happened. Miracles definitely happen! The Lord is good and definitely has a plan for all of us. We prayed for Chandler and wish him the very best.
Thanks be to God for His miraculous healing of Chan. Thanks for sharing this story as my kids have contests for holding their breath underwater all the time.
Thank you all! Especially our loving Lord.
I cry as I read this. So thankful the Lord was watching over Chandler and your precious family that day. Sending warm hugs to everyone.