Swimming and Water

With people still talking about the Nationwide Super Bowl ad that brought dramatic attention to the number one killer of kids, preventable injuries, we’re releasing new research that reveals the scope of the problem in a place most parents assume is safe: the home. Every day, six children die from an injury in the home, and 10,000 go to the emergency department for the kinds of injuries that commonly happen in homes.

Just because I’m fearless on the court doesn’t mean that I’m fearless in my everyday life. In fact, even something fun and seemingly harmless like a swimming pool can scare me. The truth is—I never learned to swim as a child. I may be able to score a career playoff high of 27 points for the Boston Celtics, but if you threw me into the ocean, I’d drown.

Yes, my parents actually let me marry the guy who burned me. We were in high school and my future husband, John (the sweet guy he is), was cooking fried okra. The oil in the pan became too hot too fast. It went up in flames in a matter of seconds. I was standing back against the wall and could not get out of harm’s way quick enough. My right foot and leg caught on fire.