Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
HEBER CITY — Two years ago, Danielle Bradshaw was on her raft with her girls, ages 2 and 5, when they flipped over at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman.
The Draper mother said she struggled to stay on top of the water herself while keeping her daughters above water at the same time. Eventually, bystanders saw them and helped get the girls to shore, but by the time her son pulled her to shore, Bradshaw was in cardiac arrest.
Her husband was on his way with life jackets when he received a call from an older daughter saying she wasn't breathing. An off-duty police officer started CPR quickly, which helped Bradshaw recover after only one night in the hospital.
"There's no way to repay those who didn't hesitate to step in and save us," Bradshaw said. "I realize now it's always better to be safe and cautious than to be sorry."
Bradshaw shared her story Wednesday as part of a Primary Children's Hospital event at Jordanelle State Park, 10 miles north of Heber City. Ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, the hospital announced a donation of 900 life jackets to loaner stations located a reservoirs and lakes like Jordanelle throughout Utah.
Bradshaw said she wished loaner life jackets had been available for her family that day at the reservoir.
The hospital also issued a reminder: "Life jackets and supervision are critical to keeping kids safe around the water."
Primary Children's Hospital collaborated with local agencies to provide life jackets for the loaner stations.
Karlee Kump, community health manager at the hospital, said the loaner program seeks to make life jackets more available and increase how often they are used.
Dr. Wing Province, from Park City Hospital, said drowning is the second leading cause of death from a preventable injury for children under 14. He also said the majority of those deaths occur between May and August.
A third of the drownings in the state occur in bodies of water, including lakes and rivers within Utah, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Bradshaw is a good swimmer, but hospital officials say knowing how to swim does not guarantee safety. They said in lakes and rivers, everyone should use a Coast Guard-approved life jacket and stay with others.
In addition to wearing life jackets, Primary Children's officials encouraged parents of young children to appoint someone to watch the water, drain kiddie pools when not in use, teach everyone in the family to swim, enclose pools and hot tubs, learn CPR and check water first when a child is missing.
