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Francisco Delgado III died in hospital a week after he went swimming. Picture: Facebook
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy has died from a rare condition that caused him to drown a week after he went swimming.
The Sun reports that baseball-loving Francisco Delgado III, from Texas, died in hospital after complaining of severe pains on Saturday.
Francisco Delgado III died from dry drowning. Picture: FacebookSource:Supplied
He had spent the week suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting after going swimming in the Texas City dike last week.
After the swim itself, he had only said he had a sore stomach, which his parents believed to be just a regular bug, KTRK reported.
Doctors later told his shocked parents Tara and Francisco Jr that he suffered from dry drowning, caused when someone breathes in water.
Parents Tara and Francisco Delgado Jr. Picture: KTRKSource:Supplied
The liquid never reaches the lungs, as per normal drowning, but it causes the vocal chords to tighten, eventually shutting down the airway.
Another similar type of condition called secondary drowning occurs when water does reach the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
Francisco III’s heartbroken dad said: “Out of nowhere, he just woke up. He said ‘ahhh’, he took his last breath and I didn’t know what to do no more.”
Francisco Delgado III died in hospital a week after he went swimming. Picture: KTRKSource:Supplied
His mother described a terrifying scene in the hospital as doctors worked to save her son’s life.
She said: “I walked in. I could see him lying there. They were still working on him.
“I’m screaming, ‘let me just touch my baby’. Maybe he needs his mamma’s touch.
“When she came in, she told us it’s what’s called dry drowning. His lungs were full of fluid. There was nothing else they could do for him.”
Francisco Delgado III died in hospital a week after he went swimming. Picture: FacebookSource:Supplied
This article originally appeared in The Sun