William Douglas wanted to learn swimming. He went to YMCA pool as it was safe. But an eighteen year old tossed Douglas into the deep end of the pool. He landed in a sitting position, swallowed water and went at once to the bottom. He was frightened but planned a strategy to come to the surface. He decided that the moment his feet hit the bottom, he would “make a big jump, come to the surface, lie flat on it and paddle to the edge of the pool”. However, because of too much depth, Douglas could not resurface. When his feet hit the bottom of the pool Douglas made a jump. However, instead of springing back to the surface, he came up slowly. His attempts to grab onto something and bring his legs up proved to be futile. He tried to come to the surface more than a couple of times. He yelled but no sound came out of his mouth. He felt tired and suffocated; he was paralysed with fear and almost drowned. Douglas wouldn’t have survived if someone hadn’t dove into the water to save him.
