About Me

As a child, I always loved the water. Whether it was fishing in Colorado, or swimming in the pool at home, I was usually in or near it. It wasn’t until I became a mother that the dangers of the water became more evident. I realized how much children love water, but do not understand how unforgiving it can be, nor do they understand the finality their decisions can have. I learned that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 4 and happens at unplanned swim times over 80% of the time. I did the only thing I knew to do which was to watch my child like a hawk, keep a lifejacket on her in the water, and supervise bath time. When our daughter was almost 4, we put a pool in our backyard. My husband was able to teach Abby to “swim”, though she could barely get a short distance that summer. It made me feel safer, and Abby a little safer. Fast forward a few years later; we still had the pool and a new baby. I signed my baby up for traditional lessons because that’s all I knew to do. Emma was happy in the water most of the time. We had fun in her lessons, but one day I had the realization that she loved the water but still wasn’t able to swim or float. Sure, she went from being able to be pushed/pulled through the water for 4 seconds to 6 seconds, but what would she do if I wasn’t there to help her get to the side? It was then I realized I had to find her something different, something more, so if she made it to the water alone, she could have a chance to survive.

I first became familiar with ISR Self-Rescue lessons when Emma was 2 years old. I had heard stories of “survival” swim programs but had never heard of ISR. Fortunately, a friend took her baby to ISR Fort Worth and told us about the program. I was marveled at how fast her daughter became skilled with her float, all before she was even walking! I immediately contacted the instructor and signed up Emma for lessons. I thought Emma would only learn survival with floating and rolling to her float. However, after only a few weeks she was swimming and floating! I knew this could not guarantee drowning prevention, but I knew it was another layer of protection to prevent her from drowning. I fell in love with ISR for the change I saw in my child, but also being a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (with a graduate degree in psychology), I loved the all too familiar psychological science of ISR’s technique. ISR is the essential definition of psychology, both a science based on sound theory and research and also as an art as it is practiced in the water.

I continued as an ISR parent for about 2 years, taking my child to all her maintenance lessons, making a few Facebook posts, and telling others about it when I thought they might be interested. I thought I was doing enough. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes when we least expect it. During the pandemic shutdown, some family members came over to our house to fish. After fishing at our stock tank for no more than 15 minutes, the unthinkable happened. Our cousin’s beautiful 3.5 year old son, Carter Lee, made his way up to the backyard, opened a gate and entered the pool. We had always heard that drowning is silent, and at our house that day it was. We never heard him walk away. We never heard the gate open. We never heard any splashing in the water, and we never heard any cry for help. We were heartbroken and felt helpless. One day in the aftermath, I realized when talking to my friend and Emma’s ISR instructor, Kelsey Strieby, that I needed to do more. I felt like I had been just sitting on the sidelines waiting for others do all the work but I knew I needed to be more involved; I needed to become a certified ISR instructor. I decided to start ISR Brock-Peaster to serve the communities and surrounding areas to prevent other families from experiencing this heartache.