I was thrown in a pool as a joke when I was around 11 or 12. Problem was, I couldn't swim.

My father had told me in the (then recent) past that if I sank to the bottom of a pool, to relax and go straight up. When my feet hit the bottom of that pool, I legit went limp and sort of jumped with my hands above my head. I shot to the top like a bullet and was able to grab the edge of the pool. I'd be lying like hell if I said I recalled anything anyone had ever told me about swimming in that moment. I don't even think I was thinking. All I saw was blue. For whatever reason I can't explain, I didn't panic. Thing is, if I attempt to launch to the surface and don't move, I
do begin to panic and that random summer afternoon would have been my last. Needless to say, my folks had me swimming like a fish two and a half months later.
My oldest started swimming lessons last year and I personally swam with her throughout this summer in our pool. All my nieces learned early and my nephews are right behind them. Not knowing how to swim past a certain age is akin to not knowing how to read. You're constantly at a handicap and even more so at the mercy of nature than we already are by default. The scariest thing about water is that even if you're a great swimmer, exhaustion can easily come into play. Like someone said, swimming alone for extended periods is a lot riskier than people think. Try to keep a float of some sort on hand at all times and/or don't swim alone. She was by herself & panicked, a human reaction and a terrible way to go. Not sure how her mother managed to watch that.