From ages one to four, the greatest threat to a child’s life in the United States is drowning. This statistic from the CDC is only one of the reasons that parents Keri and Roarke Morrison started “Live Like Jake,” an organization that focuses on water safety. Their other reason was far more painful and personal. In 2013, the couple lost their son, Jake, to a drowning accident in a nearby lake during a vacation.
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According to their website, the Morrisons have made it their mission to inform other parents about the dangers of drowning, especially when it comes to small children. Jake had never really learned how to swim, and the couple wonders to this day if more lessons would have kept him alive.
“I hope that no parent EVER has to go through what we have gone through and that is why we are so passionate about drowning prevention,” wrote Keri and Roarke.
Live Like Jake includes many resources for parents, including a list of water safety tips. One of the most important items on that list is making sure that a child knows what to do if they find themselves in too-deep water. The organization recommends the Infant Swim Resource’s Self-Rescue® methods, which are taught at a variety of facilities. For families unable to afford these services, the non-profit provides scholarships. Additionally, Live Like Jake has its own indoor pool facility where trained instructors are available to teach kids the Self-Rescue method.
WPTV highlighted Live Like Jake in a video, where an instructor gave a demonstration of her techniques. She explained that, in about four to six weeks, a child as young as under a year old can learn to float on their back and hold their breath. If they can keep this up until someone is able to rescue them, they have a far greater chance of survival should they fall into a pool or other body of water by accident.
Jake’s memory continues to be a driving force for the organization. His story doesn’t just serve as a cautionary tale; in fact, the mark he’s left behind on the people he loved continues to inspire them.
“What does it mean to Live Like Jake?” his parents ask on their website. “For Keri and I to ‘Live Like Jake’ means living with no prejudgments, needing very little to be happy, not getting bogged down with petty things or inconsequential circumstances. Also, for us it means to try and be a positive spark to people we meet and to greet everyone with a smile.”
They add, “In honor of Jake, we try our best to keep a smile on our face, laugh when we can, and do our best to live everyday like our son Jake would have!”
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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