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I’m in shock. I’m wiping away my tears that fell while reading Stacey’s post about this unbelievable nightmare that, Praise God, ended in a miracle.
In hopes of saving other families from this trauma and potential tragedy, Stacey has shared her painful experience on her blog in a post called “The worst five minutes of my life.”
When you read her story, you’ll hear how:
“One of my twin 3 year-olds fell in a hole dug by some other children, and it collapsed on him, completely burying him (8-10 inches over his head). It happened in a split second when our heads were turned (my children were still in my peripheral vision, then I noticed only one was still there).
…We are so blessed that things turned out the way they did, and eternally grateful for our personal angel, a 25 year-old woman who noticed an indentation in he sand and wondered if my son could be there. This is a completely preventable danger, and I hope that my story might help others be more aware that it could happen….”
Apparently deaths caused by sand holes are not such rare and freak accidents. They happen and far too many children have died when buried alive by a collapsed hole in the sand. Just last month, a Boston physician warned the public of the risk of digging large holes on the beach.
Please take a moment to read Stacey’s story and then please spread the word to all the families you know. Let’s help reduce the risk of these needless deaths by educating families and reducing the number of large holes dug in the sand.
Janne says
Wow, thanks for the warning! We spend LOTS of time digging at the beach, and my only concern was keeping a close eye on the kids making sure they were safe in the WATER!
Twisted Cinderella says
Wow what an amazing and terrifying story.
Elaine says
At the place where my daughter gets speech therapy, there is a 15 year old boy that is paralyzed and all-but brain dead in a wheel chair. He was fine up until he was 14, when last summer his family was at the beach and he dug a large hole, which collapsed on him and he was brain dead for 5 minutes before they dug him out. When you think of how long it takes kids to dig those holes, it is terrifying to think how long it takes to dig the kids out. He survived, but barely.
We were just at the beach and all around me kids were digging big holes. Each time I went to the parents and shared with them the story of that boy and immediately the parents and kids started filling in the holes. After reading Stacey’s story, I realize that I really wasn’t overreacting.
Thanks for sharing such an important story during beach season!
BeachMama says
We have just returned from our annual beach vacation, where Hubby and I watched as adults and children alike dug and dug and dug more holes. We have already read horror stories of digging big holes at the beach and were truly bothered by all the huge holes, complete with tiny kids playing in them.
We kept reminding our son not to step in them and not to dig big holes as we watched some fill with water from the rising tide. Thankfully we saw no one get hurt, but it is still hard to watch others when you know what can happen.
Thank you for posting this story, hopefully one more person will realize that huge holes on the beach are not safe. And hopefully beaches will post signage in the future warning of the dangers.
Jenn in AZ says
.wow. *heart pounding*
Cole's Mama says
Such a terrifying story. It makes you feel even more vulnerable as a parent. There are so many things out there that you don’t even realize can be so dangerous. Something has harmless seeming as sand on a beach can take a little life. I never realized. Thank you for sharing this blog with us.
melody is slurping life says
Thank you for posting and linking to her story. I never ever considered this happening on our beach vacations…never. Thank God for this miracle.
Faerylandmom says
Talk about the hand of God intervening on behalf of one of His little lambs! My heart just ached reading her story.
blondeblogger says
Oh my gosh!!!! That is beyond scary! My heart breaks for her.
I sort of know how she feels (though I won’t even begin to claim my story was as traumatizing). My son was 6 when we were on vacation and my husband thought he was watching him at the large hotel pool.
It turned out to be another little boy that looked just like our son. My husband ran up to me and asked if Matthew was with me, which he wasn’t.
I started frantically searching for him, fearing kidnapping or drowning. Sure enough, I found him in the middle of drowing in the deep end. He couldn’t get his head above water.
I dove in and pulled him out and he coughed up water. He ended up being okay, but I still am traumatized to this day by it. I still think…what if it had been only a few minutes later that my husband realized he was missing?
And for those moments that you fear your child is dead, (I didn’t know if he’d be able to breathe after I pulled him out)…it’s just beyond words.
Thank you for posting this story. Ironically, I had just read that news story about the sink holes at the beach and it was the first time I ever heard of them. Then to see this….I am going to be VERY careful anytime my kids are playing in the sand.
Thank God her little boy is okay. Truly, truly a miracle.
On a much lighter note, I love the new look of your blog! 🙂
Heidi says
Thanks for sharing this link, the story is horrifying, but very good to know, especially we are going to hawaii next month! I will definitely keep my eyes on my 4 years old every second!