Tacoma couple has heartbreaking message after toddler's near-drowning

TACOMA, Wash. -- It's their darkest hours, yet a Tacoma couple is brave enough to let Q13 News into a hospital room to see their baby girl fighting for her life.

“The first night when we were in the ER they said to standby nearby; they said she is probably not going to make it, so they said stay really close so we had to watch as they were working on her,” Vincent Loyd said.

Vincent and Regina Loyd found their daughter Legend lifeless in a pool on Mother's Day.

“She was out of someone's sight for 30 seconds, she went out the front door. We don’t know how the door got open,” Vincent said.

Their almost 2-year-old daughter who loves the water found her way to the family's backyard pool in Tacoma.

“We didn’t want to bring cameras in here because we didn’t want people to see her like this, but sometimes I think parents need a slap in the face,” Vincent said.

On this Memorial Day weekend, the couple's message is simply this.

“If they have a pool, if you have a pool, just get rid of it,” Vincent said.

They warn that it’s not just the pool but even a bathtub can be just as deadly.

For the past 12 days they've been next to their daughter's bedside at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

“It’s nice to see her face again, it's the first time we are seeing her face since we came here,” Vincent said Friday.

That’s because the breathing tube in her mouth that was covering her face was just removed.

Legend is now breathing on her own with the help of a machine.

“She doesn’t really react to sound; she does react to light, that's a plus,” Vincent said.

They are desperately waiting for Legend to fully respond but even then they won't know the full extent of the damage to her brain.

“She's a fighter,” Vincent said.

And so are they.

“I have to be strong for her, I’ve been researching already,” Vincent said.

The couple is talking to other people who went through the same trauma and they already have plans to take Legend out of state for alternative treatment.

They will never let go of hope and their once joyful baby girl.

“She would walk into a room and everyone would smile,” Vincent said.

The family has set up a Facebook page so people can follow up on Legend’s progress.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/213252645943967/about/

You can also donate to this family to help with treatment costs.