(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Batavia woman is asking for donations of life jackets -- new or gently used -- that she says will go to families who need them for their children.
Jeannette Young is on a mission because of her own family's experience, WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller reports.
It was last Thanksgiving at a Florida pool. Young and her family were swimming with their children.
"They're usually all in life jackets, but the water was so shallow that we thought, there's no way," Young recalled.
"If I was sitting with my legs straight out in front of me, the water didn't even come up to mid-way over my leg."
Then Young's 3-year-old nephew Diego disappeared. They started looking away from the pool because they thought there was no way he could be in the pool.
Diego's grandmother saw something on the bottom.
"But she wasn't sure if it was him or a red toy. Because it was way at the bottom of the pool."
They pulled him out. Diego was on life support for five days. Now, Young said, he is fine.
Now, the family is devoting its efforts to swim safety, including collecting life jackets for others.
"And if it could go toward a good cause or somebody that might really be in need of one, we would do our best to make that happen."
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