I was eating lunch one day after my mom called Coeby which is my little cousin and I in to come eat, a few minutes later I heard my dad scream my mom’s name. I walked outside to see what happened and my little brother was propped up on the side of the pool dead. I learned to pay more attention to everything when daxton drowned, daxton was saved, and I was blamed

Coeby and I were outside playing around, just having a great time. We just got a pool, but we couldn’t play in it for the moment because my dad was inside cleaning it. So we just walked around and jumped on the trampoline waiting for breakfast to be ready.

My little brother, Daxton, just learned to walk and climb stuff. He was so excited; he would just wander off sometimes without us knowing. He always thought he was just as big as Coeby and I. While Coeby and I were outside playing, Daxton was inside throwing a fit because he wanted to come play with me. Finally mom let him come out and told me to watch him. I did not hear her say that I had no clue he was out there with us.

Mom came out after a little while and told us to come eat. Coeby and I raced in, not knowing we had just left Daxton outside with nobody watching. Daxton was outside with just Dad in the pool, Dad didn’t know Daxton was outside at all. He just thought it was me and Coeby. While Dad had his back turned away from the ladder, Daxton climbed up the ladder that was connected to the pool and jumped in. Dad turned because he thought he heard me splash the water, but he didn’t see anything; Daxton was at the bottom of the pool. About a minute or so later, Dad had a funny feeling, so he turned around and Daxton was floating on top of the water. Dad was scared; he lifted up my brother and started freaking out.

I was sitting at the bar eating a sandwich when I heard my dad start screaming “AMY!” over and over again. She rushed outside to see what had happened and I followed, and my little one year old baby brother propped up on the side of the blue pool dead. His skin was pale blue and his eyes were closed, and he had no heart beat.

My mom, being a cardio respiratory therapist, stated giving him CPR. My dad came inside, saw me, balled his fist up to me, but stopped just when he was about to hit me; instead, he just grabbed me by the neck and threw me into the living room floor. He couldn’t look at me after that if he would have, I’m not sure if I would be here right now. Mom had finally brought Daxton back to life; his eyes would peak open and shut. His little face was still a pail blue color. I was in the back dialing 911; the people told me to calm down, but I couldn’t. They would ask me a question, but all I could say was my little brother drowned. After I told them that they asked for our address; I couldn’t think of it, so I hung up and my parents rushed to the hospital. I remember as they were leaving seeing Daxton open his eyes, try to talk, and then pass out again. I had no clue if he was alive or dead at that moment. It broke my heart every second I thought he was dead; I knew it was all my fault and I couldn’t fix it.

I sat alone in my room crying for three hours. I still didn’t know if he was alive or not. Coeby was in shock; he couldn’t believe what had just happened right in front of him. Mom finally called me and told me that he was okay, and he was going to stay the night in the hospital just to make sure he didn’t get sick from all the water that he took in.

When my family finally came home, it seemed as if they didn’t want to even look at me. I think they blamed me, and they should; I blame myself for letting it happen. I was irresponsible and let one of the most important people in my life die. The next time I saw Daxton he was full of life and gave me a hug. I didn’t want to let go because I almost lost him; I thought I would never hold or see him anymore. I know I am not supposed to blame myself anymore, but I have to; I almost took his life away in a split second.

Coeby stopped coming over because he kept having nightmares; he had one just about every night. It was about that day, I would have them to and sometimes I would be laying down in my bed and start hearing my dad scream “AMY! AMY!” I would have dreams were I thought I would wake up to step out of bed and my feet would hit water and I would see my little brother face down in the middle of my floor. I was scared to sleep I couldn’t shut my eyes. Coeby was scared to sleep for about two months straight and wouldn’t come stay the night until about six months later.

I thank God every day just about, for giving me another chance with Daxton. I realized after a while if God can trust me then I should be able to trust myself. Being irresponsible is behind, I may still act like a child from time to time, but now I know when to flip my switch and become a man and take responsibility for my actions. I do not regret that day, I am not happy that it happened but if it didn’t I wouldn’t know to appreciate what is in front of me and I wouldn’t know to take in every second of every day, and enjoy it.