PHOENIX — March 15, 2022, started like any other day for Ashley Ackerman and her family. It was Spring Break, so all the kids were home having fun and playing.
However, in an instant, everything changed.
"When it's still, when the pool is still and the water is still, I just imagine him running around," Ackerman said.
Her 4-year-old son, Braxton, was home when she said they hadn't heard him making his usual ruckus around the house. Ackerman was in the living room with her husband and called out his name, but there was no answer.
"We started yelling and looking and I remember yelling through the house and to my backyard," she stated. "So I ran to the back door and I wasn't sure what I saw because nobody was supposed to be in the backyard. And then I realized it was him."
The rest was a blur to Ackerman who said she doesn't remember a lot of that day, but at the same time, remembers everything.
"I remember doing CPR and my son, my oldest, calling 911," she said. "I remember driving with the deputy and just begging, begging for him to be breathing, for him to be awake. And then I was pacing in the hospital. I remember them telling us we could hold his hand for the last efforts. I remember yelling at the doctors saying, 'Don't quit!' and they had done everything.'"
She said doctors worked on Braxton for about an hour before they had to say goodbye.
"I still stare at the place I saw him from my bedroom window, my kitchen sink window, it's a constant reminder," she said.
Ackerman said talking about her son's death isn't easy, but feels it's also necessary so other parents don't experience the devastation she's felt.
"We're not neglectful parents, we're not bad parents," she said. "It's one of those reminders that this happens to anybody. There's no one person and it takes a second. It takes one second to not be in your sight. My husband and I were just talking."
WATER WATCH: Resources and information about water safety
Ackerman said adding safety measures around their backyard pool was necessary when they first moved into the home. They added a fence and security cameras and made sure doors were locked. Ackerman also said Braxton had taken swim lessons, but still with all the layers, Ackerman wished she still had done more.
"There are so many things I wish I would've known," she said. "Drowning is the leading cause of death in 1-4 year olds. The one thing that gets me is there's no season and there are so many pools in Arizona. We're in the top five in the nation for drowning deaths and we're the only state that doesn't have an ocean."
She's hoping the tragedy of her son will help save someone else and prevent this from happening. She began "Swim 4 Braxton," a nonprofit that helps fund swim lessons and pool fence installation for families in the valley.
"It needs to be louder, the prevention aspect needs to be louder," she said. "There needs to be billboards, radio adds, drowning is silent and it's quick and it takes so little for it to take a life. People need to hold on to the fact that this can happen to you. You can't say it can't, it won't because it can and I said those same things and it still happened."
On April 27 at 7:30 a.m., Ackerman will be hosting the 2nd Annual Super "B-Dog" Memorial 5K and Walk. It'll be held at Desert Mountain Park in Queen Creek. There will be a ton of fun activities and food trucks. There also will be a CPR Demo for all participants.
100% of the proceeds from the event will go to funding swim lessons and pool fence installations locally.
Also, on April 25, Backyard Taco will be putting 20% of its sales towards Swim 4 Braxton as well, just make sure to mention Swim 4 Braxton with your order.
For more information you can go to Swim4Braxton.com or here for more info and to register for the race.
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