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Shahla Karimi, 47, had cramps while swimming and was about to drown.
When 7-year-old Kevin saw his mother sink below the surface of the water, he called for help and tried to get her to shore.
– If Kevin hadn’t screamed, Shahla wouldn’t be alive today, says Kevin’s father, Bakhtiar Ahmadi.
For Shahla Karimi and her two children, it was a hot summer day in the bathroom at Hökåsengropen in Västerås. She was there with her sister-in-law and their children, cooling off in the heat while Shahla’s husband, Bakhtiar Ahmadi, was working at the hospital. But the idyll quickly turned into a nightmare.
Shahla and Kevin swam together quite close to the beach, Shahla practiced her backstroke. Suddenly she felt cramps in her arms and shoulders. The left side of her body did not obey her. Horrified, she realized that she was about to sink and her last thought upon waking was that even Kevin would be swept under the water.
He manages to say “Kevin, you have to call for help, Mom is not feeling well.”
Kevin remembers the incident clearly. He says it all started when he and Shahla talked about going back to the beach.
– I told my mother that I wanted to get up and my mother let me hold her shoulders to make it easier. Then I saw that my mother panicked and disappeared under the water. At first I didn’t hear what my mother said, but then I understood and asked for help, says Kevin.
Photo: Private
When Shahla Karimi was about to drown, her son Kevin acted quickly. She screamed for help and tried to drag her mother onto the beach.
The body weighed too much
Kevin also tried to get his mother ashore. But Shahla’s body was too heavy for him in the water.
A nearby man, Svante Lindberg, heard Kevin scream. Along with a few other men, he was able to pull her out of the water. By chance, three doctors and a nurse were on the beach. They were there together to swim, but were able to intervene immediately and provide Shahla with a heart and lung rescue. Svante Lindberg helped with the inspirations.
– They were all really heroes, it was lucky for Shahla that the care staff was there, says Bakhtiar.
Photo: Private
Shahla Karimi was close to drowning, but was rescued by her son Kevin. Here with Kevin, her daughter Narin, and her husband Bakhtiar.
Bakhtiar had just gotten into the car and was about to drive home after work when Kevin called him on the phone from Shahla.
– Kevin said “Dad, you have to come here right away, Mom is dying. A nasty accident has happened.”
Bakhtiar was surprised and did not know what to believe. Soon, a man picked up the phone and told him that Shahla had had an accident in the bathroom. He said he had been pulled out of the water and that ambulance personnel were on the scene. She lived.
– I had time to think a lot. I panicked. I wondered if I would survive and if Kevin and Narin would come out unscathed, says Bakhtiar.
He drove at high speed to Hökåsengropen.
Being unconscious for a quarter of an hour.
– There were people in silence around Shahla. They had all tried to help in some way. One took a blanket and put it over my wife, another wiped the sand off her face. It makes me so happy that people really wanted to help in every way.
– She was alive, but wasn’t really with her and she threw up over and over again. She had ingested a lot of water, says Bakhtiar.
She says that Shahla had been unconscious for about fifteen minutes before the spring staff helped her get started. She was rushed to the emergency room and allowed to stay in the hospital for three days. She had a lot of water in her stomach and lungs. Today Shahla is feeling better, but she is very tired and has a headache and chest pain after the cardiac compressions.
– The only thing I remember is when we were in the water. Kevin didn’t want to swim, so he grabbed me by the shoulders and we swam a little where it wasn’t that deep. But suddenly I felt like I had big cramps all over my left side. I told Kevin to call for help and heard him scream. Then it went black. When I woke up I was in the intensive care unit. I don’t remember anything of what happened. It was unpleasant, says Shahla.
Kevin had a hard time sleeping the first night, he thought a lot about his mother and what happened. Shahla is on sick leave for a while in order to recover properly.
– I didn’t suffer any brain damage. It can happen when you are away for so long. But I don’t sleep much at night. I lie and think about what happened and why. It could have been a lot worse. There are many thoughts, says Shahla.
Photo: Private
Bakhtiar and Shahla are grateful for all the help Shahla received after she nearly drowned in Hökåsengropen in August.
“They were fantastic and helpful”
– It was great that Kevin reacted immediately and started asking for help. It ended well thanks to Kevin, Svante and these doctors. I will never forget it, says Bakhtiar.
A few days after the accident, the Svante Lindberg family met. He got in touch with Shahla after reading about her on the VLT.
– It was incredibly nice meeting Svante. It was nice to put a face on one of those who saved my wife, says Bakhtiar.
Shahla pays tribute to all who helped her after the accident.
– Everyone who was there was fantastic and helpful. Kevin, of course, and those who did CPR, Svante, who helped me with breathing and the ambulance crew. I want to thank everyone in the department where I was. They were fantastic, I have received great help at all times. Thanks to all these people, today I can be here with my family, says Shahla.
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