VALLEY CENTER (KGTV) — Nicole Papandrea taught her two girls how to swim in their backyard pool — a lesson learned after the loss of her 2-year-old son Everett in 2019.
Papandrea had just put Everett down for a nap.
“He snuck out through a door with a broken lock on it,” Papandrea said.
She said Everett woke up and found his way to their backyard pool. The fencing around it was almost complete, except for the gate that got lost in the mail.
“He just was a very adventurous little boy and I'm sure in his mind he was going out on his next adventure.”
Papandrea found his body floating in the water a few minutes later.
“It’s horrifying. It’s every worst nightmare realized for a parent.”
“What did you decide to do after your son’s death?” asked ABC 10News reporter Perla Shaheen.
“I created the Remembering Everett Foundation in his memory to keep his legacy alive, to promote water safety awareness and to teach other families the importance of survival swim.”
Papandrea offers water safety workshops and swim scholarships through the foundation. Her work was recognized by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors last week, and they proclaimed July as “Remembering Everett Foundation Water Safety Month” throughout the county.
“I think it also brings to light how important water safety is in our community, especially in San Diego where most people have pools.”
Papandrea now has motion sensor alarms around her pool and doors, but says survival swim lessons are the real life savers.
If you’d like to get information for more layers of prevention, Papandrea asks that you email her at swimfloatsurvive@gmail.com.
