Taking a loss and making it a lesson
His heart stopped when he pulled up to his driveway to see eight or nine ambulances at his gate.
Water is perhaps one of the most beautiful elements, with the power to be graceful and peaceful, but also strong and deadly. It has the power to change lives, sometimes for the worst.
On 27 October 2013, the lives of a Florida family were turned upside down when three-year-old Jayden Roux fell into his uncle’s swimming pool. Jayden’s parents had taken him and his sister to visit their grandparents and uncle, Shane Maitland. Shane had gone out for a short while and left his family happily catching up in his home, never expecting anything to go wrong.
His heart stopped when he pulled up to his driveway to see eight or nine ambulances at his gate. His initial thought was that his father had suffered a heart attack, but he never imagined that his ‘Little Munki’ could be the reason those flashing lights filled his driveway. He walked in to find paramedics over his nephew, attempting to revive him.
Jayden had fallen into the pool and got caught in the net, and though he did not die that day, he was not the same. After the 45 minutes it took paramedics to resuscitate him, the little boy could not speak, move, or walk; he wasn’t Jayden anymore. He was admitted to ICU and was put into an induced coma so he could recover.
Over the next 19 months, Jayden had his good and bad days, but the last two weeks before he passed away were the most amazing. He was smiling all the time, had started bending his legs, he hardly had any spasms. “I think he knew and wanted to leave us with happy memories,” said his mother Colleen.
Jayden passed away on 24 June 2015 and was laid to rest one week later, leaving a void in the lives of his family members.
Shane decided that he was going to do everything in his power to prevent other families from going through the same ordeal that his had, so he began the long process of opening a swimming school and less than three years later, the doors to ‘Little Munki’s Swim School’ opened. Shane affectionately called Jayden his little munki, so he named the swimming school in his honour.
Specialising in baby classes, Shane now teaches children and adults the fundamentals of swimming and water safety, as well as how children and adults can help save another life without getting into the water and endangering themselves. His primary goal is to make sure that as many people as possible, know how to be safe around water. Even though it has been seven years, Jayden’s death still haunts his family and they do not wish that pain on anyone else.
Shane and his family also run an anti-drowning campaign through the school and their Facebook page (@Jaydencause) as well as a WhatsApp support group for families who have gone through similar situations. To find out more about these campaigns or the school, contact Shane on 084 519 4969.
“Don’t underestimate water. It has taken a life from our family; don’t let it take one from yours,” concluded Shane.
