Father warns of 'silent killer' after his child falls into pool

SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- A 13-month-old from Sugar Land continues to fight for his life after falling in the family pool on March 23.

"Dylan was 13 months and happy, fun child, always smiling, but we're not even sure if we're going to see that anymore," Young Kim said, while holding back tears.

The father of three says he still doesn't know how the youngest of his three kids managed to get outside, but he continues to replay those moments.

"My wife and two older kids were outside playing," Kim said. "Not sure how my 13-month-old baby got outside, but he was able to get outside and he fell into the pool."

Dylan is now at Texas Children's Hospital, where he has been on a ventilator for almost two weeks.

"The pain that we're going through right now, we don't want on anybody else. I don't even wish this upon my worst enemy," Kim said.

The family thought they had taken precautions, their two older kids completed water survival class and Dylan was signed up to begin in July.

"I think we got too relaxed knowing our two older kids didn't have a single problem with the pool, and here we are with the third and we may lose him because of that," Kim said.

Kim says they don't know how long Dylan was in the water, even though family members were feet away. They never heard a splash or cry.

"Drowning is silent and it happens fast," said Tammy Schoen with Houston Swim Club. "It's not like it is in the movies, where they make lots of noise and they're screaming, 'Help, help!' and especially at 13 months, a baby is not screaming."

She says one of the best precautions is to teach a child to save themselves.

"A lot of times when people drown, it is because they panic in the water. They're not prepared, they don't know what's going to happen. Babies who have swim lessons very early are comfortable in the water, don't panic and are able to roll over and save themselves much easier," Schoen said.

At her swim school, they work with children less than a year old.

"I've seen children as young as six and eight months actually float unassisted," Schoen said.

They even teach the children to float fully clothed while wearing shoes to simulate falling into a pool.

"It's just a matter of training. It's like bicycle riding or piano lessons, or anything when you practice something over and over again, you learn to do it and become really comfortable at it," Schoen said.

Dylan has shown signs of improvement like grasping his mother's thumb, but they know he has an uphill battle.

"If we could save one other child's life because I'm advocating safety for the kids, that's more than what I could ask for," Kim said.

There is a GoFundMe account established for the family to help them cover the mounting medical bills.

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