Girl, 2, Ruled Brain-Dead in Pool Accident

GARDEN GROVE — A 2-year-old girl pulled from the bottom of a back-yard swimming pool was declared brain-dead Tuesday afternoon, about 24 hours after her 3-year-old brother drowned in the same accident.

Serina Rivera was placed on life support systems at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange shortly after the Monday morning accident. Her 3-year-old brother, Donald Miller, died Monday.

The deaths, coming during a season of warmer weather and increased pool use, served to highlight the tragedy that can result when toddlers wander near pools, authorities said Tuesday.

“So many parents think, ‘This cannot happen to us because we are so aware,’ ” said Andrea Pronk, a spokeswoman at Children’s Hospital. “Children are curious, especially that age, under 5,” Pronk said. “A pool might look inviting to a small child.”

Serina’s parents and doctors at Children’s Hospital planned to remove the girl from life support late Tuesday night after determining that oxygen was not getting to her brain, said Catherine Poliandro, a relative who was acting as a family spokeswoman.

After removing her from life-support systems, Poliandro said, doctors planned to transplant the girl’s heart and lungs into another child.

Serina’s parents, Julian Miller, 29, and Amber Rivera, 20, decided to allow the transplant “so that Serina would be alive in someone else’s body,” Poliandro said.

“It’s just kind of a way, in our hearts, to know that Serina will still walk the Earth,” Poliandro said. “To me that is just the absolutely most amazing thing that anyone can do who just lost two children.”

Authorities on Tuesday said they did not know how long the toddlers, discovered lying on the bottom of the pool about 10 a.m. Monday, had been under water.

The two toddlers apparently opened a sliding glass door of the den where they had been sleeping with their mother and wandered to the pool only a few feet away, according to Joanne Gainey, the owner of the house in the 12000 block of Lorna Street the and the children’s great-great-aunt.

The children, along with their 2-month-old brother, Michael Rivera, had arrived about three weeks ago from Denver with their mother to stay with their aunt, Gainey said.

Serina and Donald “were like Siamese twins. They did everything together. They played together and unfortunately they died together,” Poliandro said. “They were the most loving children. I haven’t seen many 2- and 3-year-old children who have as much personalty as those kids.”

Sheriff’s deputies continued their investigation into the deaths Tuesday, said Lt. Dick Olson. Olson said deputies believe the double fatalities were the result of an accident and that it will probably take several weeks before their inquiry is concluded.

In Orange County, pool drownings are the leading cause of accidental death for children 4 years old and younger, according to a county study last year, based on a review of 1991 deaths. Six children under 4 drowned last year in Orange County, according to preliminary statistics from the county coroner’s office. And with Serina Miller’s death, three toddlers have drowned so far this year, authorities said.

Nationwide, 90% of drownings involving children 4 years old and younger happen at homes, said Dr. William Boyle of the American Academy of Pediatrics, an Illinois-based group that represents 37,000 doctors. “This is a tragedy that happens all too commonly in our experience,” Boyle said.

People need to be as vigilant as possible when there is a pool nearby, authorities said.

Pool drownings “happen to the best of families. It happens to good parents. Just in a matter of seconds. They can’t possibly watch their children 100% of the time. . . . It only takes a few minutes for a child to suffer severe brain damage,” Pronk said.

In Orange County, all cites require fencing around three sides of a pool, but no fencing is mandated between the pool and the home, said Dr. Rick Greenwood, the deputy director of public health for disease prevention and control in Orange County.

Along with taking steps to keep children from falling into pools, authorities recommended that parents take lessons in cardiopulmonary resuscitation so they can help a child who has fallen in the water.

Part of what leads to pool deaths, authorities said, is that some people do not view pools as threats to children.

“It’s one of those things where no one even thinks about the danger until it happens to them,” Greenwood said. “Drownings happen quickly and . . . are ‘silent events,’ ” he said. It is rare when someone hears a scream or splash when a child falls into a pool, Greenwood said.

Dr. Hildy Meyers, who studies Orange County pool drownings to develop pool-safety educational materials aimed at preventing them, said: “After reviewing these reports over a number of years, I think of a back-yard swimming pool just like a big hole in the ground and you wouldn’t have a big hole in the ground without having some way to keeping people from falling into it. People need to think of the pool as a potential hazard.”

Funeral plans for Serina and Donald were not completed Tuesday, Poliandro said. Julian and Amber Miller wanted the children buried with other family members in Cypress, she said.

Child Drownings Pool drowning is the leading cause of accidental death of Orange County children younger than 4. In 1991, of 25 drownings countywide, eight were children, six of them drowning in swimming pools. Last year, of the 31 drownings, six were toddlers or infants. Here are somme measures to prevent pool drownings. CPR: Parents should learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Fences: Enclose the pool area completely with a four-foot-to-five-foot-high fence with smooth sides that children cannot climb or slip through. Gates: Should be self-closing and self-latching, with the latch higher than a child’s reach. Pool covers: Should attach securely around the pool perimeter and be strong enough to support the weight of two adults. Do not allow water to accumulate on cover top. Preparedness: Children should have water safety or swimming lessons. Keep a phone in the pool area, along with a life ring and pool hook. Awareness: Watch children when they are around water. Nearly 70% of child drowning occur when adults are momentarily distracted. Source: Times reports