Valley mom remembers son who drowned three years ago

MESA, AZ - A Valley mom is sharing her story to raise awareness after her 14-month-old toddler drowned. 

Stephanie Blunkett lost her son three years ago this Labor Day weekend. Blunkett, an ER nurse at Cardon's Children's Hospital said it was the worst day of her life.

"You try to turn back time, but you just can't," said Blunkett.

As a nurse, she never thought something like this would happen to her.

"I thought, this happens to parents who don't watch their kids or kids that are unsupervised," said Blunkett.

But sadly, it did happen. Blunkett and her husband had friends over for a Labor Day weekend cookout.

"One of the kids left the gate open and my toddler crawled to it, opened it, unwitnessed by anyone there," said Blunkett.

Just a few minutes went by, she went outside and found her son face down in the pool.

"You hope and pray that there is something that can be done. But there wasn't. I understand what it's like for these parents to come to a hospital holding on to hope. And I know what it's like walking home empty handed," said Blunkett.

She wants parents to take measures to protect their kids from these type of accidents. 

If you own a pool, make sure you have a pool fence, never leave them unsupervised and make sure at least one person is in charge of watching the children during parties. 

Also, make sure you put your kids in survival swimming classes. The classes teach children to rollover on their backs and breath when they are in water. That tool will make a difference if they ever find themselves in danger.