Grieving Mother Offers Message of Thanks to the CrossFit Community
Three minutes: That’s all it took for 7-year-old Kevin Nye to tangle himself in the tarp used to cover his family’s above ground swimming pool. He died six days later, on June 18, from the injuries he sustained.
- “The pool was 33 inches deep and he was 52 inches tall. He has been a great swimmer his entire life. We often went to the YMCA and he passed their most rigorous swim test. I never worried about him in the pool. So I went upstairs to grab the trash. I was only gone for three minutes according to video footage.” said his grieving mother Amanda Nye.
- She paused and added: “ I wish I had never gone up to get the trash.”
Three minutes later, Amanda returned and found her son unconscious in the pool, tangled in the tarp they used to keep out Arizona’s notorious dust. A paediatric nurse, she performed chest compressions on her son and managed to regain a pulse.
- “The ambulance arrived within six minutes and Kevin started taking breaths on his own again. They told us we would be able to take him home from the hospital the next day, that he would need physical therapy, but that he’d be OK,” Amanda said.
But then things went downhill. Kevin’s brain had swelled, and he passed away unexpectedly, leaving Amanda, Kevin’s father Adam Nye and 5-year-old sister Kayla Nye “completely shattered,” Amanda said.
- “In a time when I feel completely devastated and overcome with grief, the community showed up to honor my baby. #forkevin1212 provides just the smallest insight as to the number of people who have shown they care,” she said.
Through her grief, Amanda has a message to the CrossFit community: “When all of this was happening, it was in the midst of gyms (disaffiliating) and this and that and the other, and for me, the biggest take home is that none of that stuff matters. The community is what matters, and my community showed up for me so I want to thank the community. They helped this mama out big time,” she said.
- She added: “I think my biggest message is none of the current politics matter. People matter. Surround yourself with people who love and support you and ignore the noise in the background. Love those who are hurting and who need you, and help where you can. For me, that is making a world of difference right now. The CrossFit community is good people.”