As kids we’re always being told “don’t sit on the pool’s suction valve.” We grow up thinking that it’s mostly an urban legend, but sometimes, there is some truth to what we are told.
5-year-old Salma Bashir accidentally sat down on the pool’s main suction valve while on a vacation with her family in Egypt.
It only took mere seconds before the little girl was helpless, unable to fight the suction’s force. She screamed for help, but unfortunately, not even the pool’s lifeguard could get to her in time.
On the day, Salma was wearing a red bathing suit. When the little girl’s body was finally pulled from the pool, her mother thought she saw pieces of her daughter’s bathing suit on the concrete. But she soon had a horrific realization that the suction literally pulled the small intestines out of Salma’s body!
You’ll be horrified to know that this happens more than you’d think.
Back in 2008, Fox News reported that a 6-year-old girl from Minneapolis sat on a wading pool drain when its suction ended up ripping out part of her intestinal tract. The girl underwent transplant surgery but ultimately died from complications. Her injuries ended up leading to a federal legislation for better pool safety.
In Salma’s case, doctors were preparing her family for the worst case scenario, giving her just weeks to live. her family were determined to give Salma the best fighting chance, so they uprooted their lives in order to move to Pennsylvania for lifesaving treatment. Her family raised $300,000 and waited nearly 2 years before Salma was able to undergo a small intestine transplant. Unfortunately, Salma’s body rejected the transplant.
Six months later, the transplant was removed, as well as her large intestines and gall bladder.
Despite the bleak diagnosis doctors gave her, Salma survived. She is now 16-years-old, and is talkative, upbeat, and kind-hearted. Her day-to-day isn’t easy, but her spirit makes up for it.