drowning Archives - The Baytown Project

Blessing box: ‘Her story doesn’t end here’

David Berkowitz — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000

“Alicia was my fourth child, my littlest one. She was like a little porcelain doll. We pretty much centered ourselves around her. She was my kids’ pride and joy. She wanted anything, she got it. She was going to turn 2 last July. Then in May, we lost her. She drowned. It didn’t feel real. Like, I had her, then she was gone. We had recently started going to church. We felt like we were fixing our lives. Then this happened. But I felt like we got a sign from God to keep going. Like, her story doesn’t end here. She’s not here physically, but it doesn’t mean she’s not still with us. That’s when I got the idea to make a blessing box. Something we could do for the community, in her memory.

“My husband and I used to work in the refineries, and we made two decent paychecks. But they didn’t last for anything. We struggled buying diapers and formula. So it started with asking people to donate things like that for moms and dads and grandparents taking care of young kids. Now it’s grown to all sorts of food items and necessities. And the response has been great. The community is showing they really care. Whatever goes in the box belongs to whoever grabs it, whoever needs it. A lady across the street says it helps her every single day to feed her kids and have diapers for them. That’s what it’s all about. It’s made an impression on my kids, too. They get excited seeing people drop off stuff, and they have a better appreciation for those needing help.

“There are times when we all just sit down and cry. We really miss our little girl. But through this whole experience, I feel like we’ve gotten so much closer to God. I hope nobody else has to go through what we’ve gone through. I hope I bear all the burden and all the hurt and all the sorrow and all the grief for any other mother. Maybe this is not the testimony that I wanted, but I feel like this is going to help somebody else later on down the road.”

— Roxanna Castillo

The Alicia’s Blessings box is located at 1003 E. James in Baytown. It’s available 24/7 for drop-offs and pickups.

Roxanna also wants to highlight the importance of water safety for young children. A great resource is Teresa Rising, who we featured in a story several years ago. She’s a certified master instructor with Infant Swimming Resource’s Self-Rescue program.

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‘Painful’ to watch as 5-year-old son nearly drowned

David Berkowitz — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 21:15:37 +0000

Teresa Rising’s son, Nolan, almost drowned when he was 5 years old. He is now an 18-year-old homeschool senior.

“Our son almost drowned when he was 5. We were kneeboarding in the Colorado River, and he fell into the water. That sort of thing happens a lot. But this time, the board slipped onto his back and just kept pushing his head under. Then it looked like he was just kind of floating.

“I had helped him get started, so I was on the shore watching as it all happened. I remember screaming for him to keep his head up. I was crying out to God. It was so painful for me to watch. My husband was in the boat with our daughter, who was 11 at the time, and a friend.

“We always had safety in place. We always showed everybody how to use the boat in case of an emergency, so that was covered. My husband had to swim upstream to reach our son. I thought he was already dead. So when my husband got there and yelled out that he was OK, it was an unreal feeling. I really do believe it was a miracle.”

— Teresa Rising

She teaches self-rescue swimming lessons for kids

David Berkowitz — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 19:17:15 +0000

“My husband and daughter did the daddy-and-me swim class when she was young. I remember him putting her under water. I freaked out. I had a hard time with it, feeling anxious with children and their safety. But now here I am, all these years later, teaching self-rescue swim lessons for kids 6 months through 6 years old.

As a certified Infant Swimming Resource instructor, Teresa Rising teaches young people how to be safe and enjoy the water.

“So far this year I have been able to skill 78 children to be safe and save themselves in the water. I never let myself think of it like I’m saving kids’ lives, because that part is a little bit emotional for me. I know the pain of blaming yourself when you lose a child. Having lost six kids (to miscarriages), I beat myself up quite a bit. So it just seems like I’ve been preparing myself to do something like this. And I love it.

“I just got back from Florida, where I was learning from the gentleman who started ISR (Infant Swimming Rescource). His story is that he was 18 years old when he came home one day and found the neighbor kid drowned in a gully outside of his home. That’s where the passion to start this came from.

“Through this program, the goal is that not one more child drowns. Drowning is the number one cause of accidental death in children under the age of 5, and it’s completely preventable.

“I love the water. I love how it feels to be in the water. It’s neat to see how many kids are naturally drawn to it. They don’t naturally swim, but now they can be given the skills to be safe and to enjoy it.”

— Teresa Rising