Tina Attwood, 39, Warrawee, NSW
Broken bones, scraped knees and nasty cuts... my son Jordan has had them all. At 12 he's a typical boisterous boy, always covered in mud and getting up to all sorts of mischief. But I never imagined Jordan's adventurous streak could risk his life and put him in an early grave.
It was a lovely afternoon in the school holidays when I decided to head to the beach with Jordan and his younger brother Jacob, seven. It was something we all loved doing. The boys were always at their happiest when they were digging holes and splashing in the sea.
When we arrived at Mona Vale Beach, NSW, we laid down our towels and the boys sprinted straight for the water. 'Be careful,' I called out. My husband Andrew and I had read hundreds of stories about kids being swept away by a rip or being dragged underwater by a wave, so we had made sure the kids knew how to stay safe in the ocean. Still, as they bobbed up and down in the water and jumped over the waves, I watched them like a hawk. I wasn't able to start to relax until they were both back on dry land.
As they began digging in the sand just a couple of metres away from me, I settled down to read my newspaper. As I flicked through the pages, I gave Jordan and Jacob a few cursory glances, but I had nothing to worry about. They were only digging a hole in the sand - what harm could it possibly do?
Suddenly Jacob let out a spine tingling scream. Looking up, to my horror Jordan was nowhere to be seen. My son had disappeared! Springing to my feet, I spotted some toes sticking out from beneath a mound of sand. 'Stop playing games,' I yelled, leaping straight over to them. The boys were always burying themselves to trick me, but they'd never covered their heads before, only ever their legs. As I got closer, I quickly realised this wasn't a game. Jordan was completely submerged. My little boy had been buried alive in the sand!
'The hole fell in on Jordan,' Jacob cried, as he explained his brother had climbed into the space they'd been digging so he could tunnel deeper. 'Oh my god!' I screamed, frantically grabbing at the sand to free him. But as I grasped at the sliding grains, more flooded in to replace them. My bare hands were useless. The faster I dug, the faster Jordan was buried. Panic swept over me. How far down in the sand was he? Would I be able to reach him before it was too late? I continued to claw desperately at the sand to free my son.
Jordan had always kept me on my toes with his adventurous ways, but I'd never worried too much about it. I didn't want to be one of those mums who wrapped their kids in cotton wool. But this wasn't a little bump that I could kiss better - my son was suffocating and I couldn't save him. 'Somebody help!' I screamed.
Five lifeguards raced over and together we continued to dig through the sand, but it was a race against time. After what felt like an eternity we finally saw a flash of pink skin. It was one of Jordan's arms. I covered my face with my hands, unable to watch as one of the burly lifeguards grabbed the limb and pulled my son free. Was my boy going to be okay?
As he emerged from his sandy grave it was clear that Jordan was not in a good way. His face was blue from lack of air and he was unconscious. The lifeguards were about to begin CPR but suddenly Jordan gasped, taking in a great lungful of air and regaining consciousness. His terrified eyes locked with mine and he burst into tears, the horror of what had just happened sinking in. 'I'm so sorry,' he sobbed between shaky breaths. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him against my chest. I could not believe my son had just been buried alive.
'I thought I was going to die,' he wept. I couldn't tell him I'd thought exactly the same. We were all shaking with shock and Jacob was still crying from the terror of Jordan's brush with death. Guilt overwhelmed me. Was it my fault Jordan had nearly died? Maybe if I'd been a better mother and kept an eye on him this wouldn't have happened. But I'd never even realised digging on the beach could be dangerous. I'd assumed that the sea was the only threat - but the boys were just as at risk when they were on the shore. I felt so stupid for not being more aware.
There was no time to dwell though as an ambulance whisked Jordan off to hospital. Thankfully he was given a clean bill of health, but back at home we couldn't stop replaying the awful incident. For the next week Andrew and I kept a very close eye on Jordan, terrified that he would be psychologically scarred from the trauma. But within a few days he was back to his old self, swinging from trees and playing happily in the garden. We were so relieved.
This summer the boys have been banned from digging at the beach. Since the accident we've learnt that there have been eight sand submersion deaths in Australia in recent years. It's terrifying. Thankfully our boy was saved from his shallow grave. I hope our story makes other parents realise just how dangerous an afternoon on the sand can be.
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