I have been teaching ISR for a while now. I have seen my son save himself when he was two years old, after he had finished his ISR lessons. I have been at the pool when one of my former students slipped off the steps and saved herself. No one saw her fall in. Then her dad noticed her floating calmly in the water. I have had emails and phone calls of former students saving themselves in pools and one who had fallen into a swift moving creek while fishing with his dad. As amazing as these stories are, I have never experienced what I witnessed yesterday afternoon.
It all starts with a pair of brothers who are currently enrolled in ISR lessons with me. The oldest brother is three and the youngest is 17-months-old. The youngest brother, Elliott, took three weeks of swimming instruction. In his fourth week of lessons, he began to learn the floating. He fought me quite a bit as I tried to teach him the float. He kept tugging at his right ear. So, his mom took him to his pediatrician and was told that he had a double ear infection and that the tube in his right ear was about to fall out. The pediatrician expressed that Elliott's present issues were not due to swimming. He has been battling ear infections since he was a baby. The doctor advised the mother that Elliott was in need of having surgery to remove his adenoids and tonsils and replace the tube in his ear. So, until he was healed from this, he recommended no more swimming. Elliott's mother and I decided to wait until summer or spring to resume lessons.
Elliot's brother continued with his lessons. He is in his fifth week of lessons now. As he completed his lesson yesterday, I laid him on his towels to rest on the pool deck. He dad was beside him and little Elliott was running around the pool in his long sleeve shirt, jeans, diaper, socks and tennis shoes. His dad kept telling him to stop running, but being only 17-months-old, Elliot doesn't understand danger quite yet. Suddenly, as Elliott was on the other side of the pool, he tripped and tumbled off the pool deck and into the water. My heart sank and everything was in slow motion. Elliott's dad yelled his name and ran towards him. Before he or I could get to Elliott, he had rolled onto his back and was floating calmly in the water. Elliott's dad pulled him to safety and then Elliott began to cry. He was okay!! My adrenalin was pumping and my hands were shaking. It scared me to death. However, I was so amazed at what this child was able to do. I had only worked with him in the float for three days and he never did float unassisted before he had to stop his lessons. This is the first time I have witnessed a child save himself when he had not completed the program.
I have always believed in this program, which is why I teach it. But now I am even more convicted that this program saves lives! It is simply amazing!!!!
