Ten year old Johnny Jackson and his mother, Cassandra, started their day like any other. The boy was excited to go swimming for the first time. The boy appeared to be exhausted after he swam, but Cassandra dismissed the fatigue as being due to the exercise.
Hours later, 10-year-old Johnny would be dead.
Johnny Johnson died from a rare condition that physicians call “dry drowning.” The boy, although tired, spent the time after his swim talking and talking, as many kids his age do. He eventually went to his room where he was discovered by his mom and sister approximately an hour later.
“His face was covered with a spongy white substance,” Cassandra said.
Johnny’s lungs had filled with water while he was swimming. He was transported to a nearby hospital, but it was too late.
According to doctors, dry drowning is not 100 percent understood. It is thought to be a “delayed reaction” of the drowning process. There are three prominent symptoms of dry drowning.
The first symptom is to experience difficulty in breathing. Johnny had soiled himself while in the pool, a sign that breathing difficulties were occurring. The second symptom is fatigue, caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. The last symptom is a change in behavior, another symptom caused by reduced oxygen flow to the brain.
Dry drowning is a treatable condition.