There have been calls and texts pouring in concerning what happened to our baby Alyssa. We are going to open up our lives and our tragedy to everyone as an attempt to have everyone understand how important their prayers were, to have them understand how important their support was, and most of all to open the awareness of how one may suffer as a consequence of a simple mistake. If it will help just one more person to put in a little more effort towards safety in their home and prevent an incident like this, then it makes the pain of writing this letter worth it all.

September 12th at 2:33PM - I received that dreaded phone call you have always feared when you are away from home, and do not have the ability to do anything to help. My wife called me and said, "Get Home NOW!" She hung up. I literally dropped what I was doing and ran to my car. Six minutes later I got the next call except this was the one with emotion. I could barely make out the words between the screams, cries, and sobs. My wife just saying, "The door was open... The door was open..... She is breathing... I think she is breathing....." I replied, "Alyssa? Alyssa? Oh my God! Did she get hit by a car? Is her head OK?" My wife replied, "She was just floating in the Jacuzzi... The door was open..." My Heart Just sank as I was doing 120 miles an hour on the 405 freeway south driving 13 miles home... The Jacuzzi? But we have a Protective net.... Oh My God, I was in the jacuzzi the night before... I didn't put the net on. I was going to do it when I woke up... But I woke up early... I couldn't sleep. I left the house when it was dark, so I didn't see the Jacuzzi and my thoughts were to leave quickly, so I did not wake anyone. Oh my God, my daughter was floating... She thinks she is breathing... What I just went through as a Father was a nightmare. I failed my child. I let her down and didn't protect her from her young inabilities... But what I was listening to was nothing compared to what my wife had just seen, lived, and now for the rest of her life will have to survive with. My wife was just living her normal routine... putting the baby to sleep on the couch, as we have found she sleeps the longest there, due to the fact that when she wakes up she feels comfortable enough to go back to sleep after seeing us. Anyone with a young child knows how we love the 2 hour naps opposed to the half hour naps. My wife went in the other room to just grab a couple things, put a couple things away, walked back in the room where the couch is and noticed the dog running inside... Why was the dog running inside? From Where? From Outside my wife's mind realized... My wife looked at the couch... The baby was not there. (Instant adrenalin) Where is my baby? She looked at the door that was open which leads to the back yard, and saw the net off the jacuzzi. She immediately sprinted. Without looking, my wife jumped into the water. As she landed in the water she saw her worst nightmare, our baby was floating face down. My wife immediately pulled her out of the water, trying not to notice that it was not how her baby was supposed to feel. Trying not to notice her skin a pale white, her body stiff and non responsive, trying not to notice the white film around her mouth, and refusing to believe her child was dead... My wife, using the discipline that had been instilled in her through her years of martial arts, was able to focus on what needed to be done. She immediately began pumping baby Alyssa's chest, followed by a breath to her mouth, and then a scream at the top of her lungs, "HELP!" My wife did this repeatedly until she realized she would need emergency assistance. She grabbed baby Alyssa in her arms and ran inside. She grabbed the cordless phone, but could not remember the number to 911, nor how to even use a house phone... She just kept looking at it and fumbling around with it in one hand. Pump pump pump, breathe, scream! Finally 911. "Baby!... pool!... floating!..... "She was finally able to pull it together long enough to confirm our address and home number. The ambulance was on its way. A neighbor arrived, then another, and another. The paramedics arrived and my wife could not even remember our daughter's name. Her mind must have been traumatized, but as a mom she reacted and saved our child's life. Both of us had made critical errors and we let our baby down in the way of protection, but my wife became my hero that day... She saved our baby, and picked up our broken pieces. I arrived at the hospital only to find my wife completely distraught, my baby Alyssa on the table with wires, cords, needles, machines attached to her, a team of people working on her. I was helpless, only to watch and console my wife. Every chance I got, I would get as close to my daughter as I could and just say, "Dadda Loves you baby... It's OK... It's OK... I Sowwy. "They took my baby up to ICU and put her on a table to monitor her vitals. Everything started to look good as far as the vitals were concerned, her temperature was good, her heart rate was good, she was breathing on her own, her pupils were responding, She was going to live. We just did not know if her brain was ever gonna work or be the same again.

At 4:00PM my daughter woke for the first time; I saw her eyes open. Yes, this was the moment she would see me and everything was going to be just like always... Except she couldn't see me. Her eyes almost bulging out, her body going into spasms that looked like seizures, and the screams coming from her mouth and her soul were horrific. I just held her down and sang to her in her ear and told her we loved her. After 10 minutes she went back to sleep. My body shook and my heart sank. No parent should ever have to witness that. Two hours later my daughter woke up again. Nothing had changed. She was still shaking, screaming, and her eyes had no life in them. After that episode I asked the Dr. What to expect.. He said by 8:30PM we should see her talking and speaking, sitting up, and being the same baby we were familiar with. I could not wait for 8:30PM. 8:30PM came and my daughter was still the same. At 9:30PM she was the same, 10:30PM the same, 12:30AM same. I asked the Dr. What was going on and he replied, "I do not like what I am seeing. She would have woken up by now if her brain had not been affected, but obvously it has been." He assured me there were cases that children healed after days of this, but it was unlikely. At 2:30 in the morning she was still the same. She was up for 20 minutes and she just starred at the wall with no life in her eyes, and did not seem to know anyone was there or if there was even a 'there.' Earlier I had sent out emergency texts screaming for help; screaming for prayers. My daughter's brain had received what appeared to be major trauma. I needed prayers. To this day, I believe over 5,000 people prayed for baby Alyssa, from India to Florida and all around the United States. My friends and family calling everyone they knew and asking them to please pray. At 2:45AM God let me watch a miracle he would preform. My baby went into deep deep sleep, just something above and beyond peaceful. I cannot explain it. It was just peace; I could see it happening. At 5:00AM my daughter's eyes began to open, so I got really close to her. She looked right into my eyes and said, "Dadda...Up!" I picked her up, and she put her arms around me and gave me a hug, squeezing my shoulders. This was a Miracle for my wife and I. We cannot thank all of the people enough that took it upon themselves to pray for Alyssa. We cannot thank all of the people enough that took it upon themselves to get other people to pray for her. The Lord Loves Alyssa and she is now back to 100%.

I just wanted to say a special thank you to everyone... My Wife (my hero), James and his father, along with Eric (my neighbors), Paramedics, The E-58 B shift of the Orange County Fire Authority (Craig, Berto, Scott & Kurt) that put their hearts and souls into helping save my baby. To CHOC Hospital - this was the most incredible experience we could have had under the circumstances - The staff at the hospital was amazing. Ladera Ranch Community we thank you so much for your support. Shawn Ray for holding my hand and keeping my heart beating and strong when I was trying to keep my baby alive. Milo one of the Best Friends a person could ever have keeping me positive that everything would turn out the way it is supposed to, Paul and Shaylene, Thank you for bringing the toy that made my daughter smile for the first time - You both are Awesome! Craig Lawn and Annie your love and support bled through you and into us fueling us to keep focussed on what was ahead of us and not behind - and for your friend's and family's prayers and support from all around the world. My Mom whose strength will never cease to amaze me - you are the best mom to me and grandmother to my daughter that a son could hope for. To my brother James who drove all the way to Mammoth only to arrive, get the call, and drive back immediately, even though we have not spoken in four years - James, your heart is bigger then most and it is not something I want to ever live without again. Troy, Taryn and Barb You played a huge part in my daughter's recovery and her happiness - I will never forget how comfortable she felt the second she saw you guys in our room. Brenda and Jim Thank you for your support and bringing your two beautiful daughters into our lives - Thank you for making the repeated trips and showing how much you care. Merritt, my powerful link to the Lord, thank you for being so humble as to drop to your knees in prayer the minute you heard Alyssa was having trouble connecting to her brain again. Micky, your strength, kind and helpful words, along with your decision to seek help from Calvary Church. To the entire Calvary Church, Fort Lauderdale for taking the time out of your football game half time show and utilize it to pray for my daughter. To Marlyn, Aaron & Cassandra (who were still praying all the way untill 4:30AM during the time of her incredible healing), Jodi, Chrissy & Damien, Chelsea, tracy, Alicia, Laura, Jecel, Indie & Chris, Chris Legrande, Scott & Katie, Susan Rovner & team, Wendy, LJ, Tara, and Heather, along with the best and gifted nanny in the world Lorie Billhorn & her husband Jeff, and friend Casey for getting other people involved other then just yourselves and having them lead in prayers along with the entire South Shores Church, Laguna (and a special call from Pastor Rob), and Calvary Chapel, Jupiter. Jarrod from J-Star Motors for understanding my pain so much that you couldn't sleep through the night and answering every one of my texts. Anthony and Mike for understanding the love between a child and a parent. Daniel the man who married Allison and I, allowing the incredible gift to enter our lives.... thank you for your incredible devotion to her healing. To our friends at Saddleback Church. To Jeremiah and Cindy who flew in from Mexico, drove straight from LAX and refused to believe that nothing less than a miracle would happen - you were right!

Forever Thankful,
Tim Sladeck

God Bless,
Allison (Lawn) Sladeck

p.s. Also, a special thanks to anyone I may have left out - for your thoughts and prayers along the way....

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