Love for Lainey: Sayville Toddler Recovering After Near Drowning

On July 22, 18-month-old Lainey Metz was found unresponsive in a pool in Sayville. After nearly a week in a coma, Lainey awoke. Lainey‘s road to recovery is a long, but promising one. Lucy Wilcox and Kimberly Cisek, friends of the Metz family, have launched an online fundraiser to raise money to go toward Lainey’s recovery. It has already raised more than $7,000 in a week. You can donate to the fundraiser here.

Below is Lainey’s story, which Lucy and Kimberly shared on the fundraiser page:

Sometimes it takes the journey of a child to believe in miracles, the power of positivity, a belief in a higher power, and the fragility of life. On Tuesday, July 22, 2014, just like every other morning, parents Desiree and Tim drove their two children, Camden and Lainey, to daycare, kissed and hugged them goodbye, and left for work. A little over an hour after settling in, they received a heart-wrenching call: Little Lainey, only 18 months, had been found in the pool and was without a pulse. Her babysitter began CPR, which was continued by both the first responders, Suffolk County 5th Precinct, and the Sayville Community Ambulance. Restoring both her heart rhythm and pulse, she was then rushed to Brookhaven Hospital and transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital, where the staff worked to save her life.



Perhaps the name “Lainey” which means “bright light” foreshadowed her coming back to life. How incredible that a little girl who was singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” on Monday, was on life support on Tuesday.


(Daddy holding Lainey’s hand on the first day she awoke from a coma)

After six days of tear-jerking tubes, tests, morphine injections, sedatives, muscle-relaxers, boosters, respirators, malfunctions, fevers, possible seizures, cardiac arrest, critical windows, trials, MRIs, EKGs, and EEGs, Lainey awoke. Her body had survived, but they weren’t sure if her spirit had. Lainey’s MRI came back clear, but she still wasn’t herself. Day by day, as her little body detoxed from heavy drugs, Lainey’s spirit began to glimmer, then twinkle, and then shine. She looked into her mommy’s eyes and smiled, which her mom called “The best morning ever”; and then each day a little more: a cough, a cry, and a laugh!


(One of Lainey’s first smiles once she began breathing on her own!)

On August 1, Lainey returned home. Her journey is a promising, but long one. She will need the assistance of therapists to relearn everything: eating, drinking, walking, talking, singing, dancing, smiling, laughing, hugging and kissing. Luckily, Lainey is in the amazing care of her parents Desiree and Tim and five-year-old brother Camden. Although they have not requested monetary assistance, we (family and friends) want to help them take the time they need to heal and be with Lainey as she does her “firsts for the second time” as her mom exclaimed! Also, your donation will pay for one of Lainey’s therapy sessions (the insurance company only offers one per month for specific therapies) and will help defray the cost of high copays and other out-of-pocket expenses.


(Camden and Lainey before the accident)

They are a kind, generous, and loving family who provided their children with all the means necessary to survive such a situation. Both children had been enrolled in swim-safety education classes as well as private lessons at their home. In addition, after the accident, their forgiving, and positive attitudes, taught us to love and empathize. Our intention in setting up this fundraiser is to continue this communal support that was created over the last week and a half and virtually hold hands with Lainey as she makes her way through her very purposeful life.



Camden is set to start kindergarten in the fall, Lainey will begin anew, and mommy Desiree and daddy Tim have a lot to hope for. Lainey Frances Metz is an angel among us who will relearn to use her wings and fly above us with her tremendous zest for life. We never knew that a toddler could teach us to love and perhaps more passionately appreciate this awfully beautiful journey called life.

Donate here