Camp Winona teen who died had history of seizures, dad says
The Orlando Sentinel
Ken Ma
August 16, 2006
Instead, about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, his parents requested the life-support machine that had kept him alive since he was found at the bottom of Lake Winona during a spiritual outdoor retreat Monday be turned off.
The 17-year-old Seminole County teen, who wanted to spend the rest of his life serving God as a pastor, died shortly after.
Authorities are not sure why Anderson, a good swimmer, was found unconscious on the bottom of the 70-acre lake while swimming with schoolmates at YMCA Camp Winona in DeLeon Springs. His family said the teen had a history of epilepsy, and he may have suffered a seizure in the water.
'Once you have a seizure, you don't know where you are and you completely black out,' said his father, Richard Maxey. 'He slipped to the bottom and nobody saw it, not even the three lifeguards.'
Anderson had epilepsy since he was 18 months old, his father said. During most of the past eight years, he had been seizure-free thanks to his medication. But in the past nine months, the teen had six seizures, Maxey said.
Before his death, the Maxeys were looking into possible surgery to stop Anderson's seizures.
Anderson's death is being treated as an accident, and it's under investigation by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Major Case Unit.
An autopsy, which may take weeks to complete, is being conducted by the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office.
Authorities are looking into whether Anderson's medical condition was a factor in his death.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary Davidson said Anderson was swimming with a schoolmate as part of a buddy system, but he apparently became separated from his companion. Lifeguards later found him underwater sometime before 11:45 a.m. Monday.
Randy Brown, CEO of the Greater Daytona Beach Area YMCA, which oversees the camp in northwest Volusia, said the buddy system required swimmers to show the lifeguards where their partners were every so often. There were 60 swimmers and three lifeguards watching them.
After 10 minutes of swimming, lifeguards blew their whistles and required the campers to show where their buddies were. During the first check, Anderson was fine, Brown said.
Ten minutes later, right before a second buddy check, Anderson's partner told the lifeguards he didn't know where the boy was, Brown said.
'Nobody saw him slip under the water,' Brown said. 'None of the swimmers or the [life] guards noticed any struggle.'
Carol Carmella, an education and prevention specialist with the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast Florida, said it's possible for epileptics to have a subtle seizure in the water, lose consciousness and drown. Such occurrences may not be noticed by others around them.
'Hopefully they can have someone there that can pull them out of the water,' she said.
It took lifeguards four minutes to find Anderson under seven to 10 feet of water, Brown said. The boy was not responsive to rescuers, authorities said.
Lifeguards performed CPR. Deputies arrived and used an automated external defibrillator, while more CPR was performed by paramedics, Brown said.
Anderson was taken to Florida Hospital DeLand and placed on life support.
Richard Maxey said he knows he and his wife made the right decision, and he doesn't blame anyone for the incident.
'According to a CAT scan, he had no activity in his brain,' Richard Maxey said. 'The only thing sustaining him was a pacemaker and a ventilator. There didn't appear to be any reason to prolong the agony.'
Anderson was deeply religious, his father said. After graduation from the nondenominational Christian school, he planned to attend either Seminole Community College or the University of Central Florida, and then seminary.
Maxey said his son had been excited about the spiritual retreat. About 90 juniors and seniors from The Master's Academy arrived at the camp Sunday for two days of bonding.
'We miss him so deeply, and it hurts so bad,' Richard Maxey said. '[But] I am absolutely convinced that the Lord called him home. . . . He's in the arm of Jesus.'
At Fellowship of Christian Life in Orlando, Anderson sang in the church choir. At school, he played the euphonium, an instrument similar to the baritone, in the band. This year, he was appointed band chaplain.
Anderson, who lived in Oviedo his entire life, also loved to play the musical video game Dance Dance Revolution and study Latin.
William Harris, The Master's Academy's superintendent, said Anderson was loved by other students and faculty.
'He was just an outstanding young man,' Harris said.
Ken Ma can be reached at kma@orlandosentinel.com or 386-253-2316.