CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – The parents of a little boy who nearly drowned in the family pool last week are offering their thanks to the throngs of supporters who've wished them well on social media.
"This has been so nice for us," Jenna Edwards said. "It's been a great way for us to express our feelings. This has been a very difficult time for us and our family."
She and her husband, Skyler, are drawing on strength they didn't know they had to get through days they never imagined they'd have to face. Their 2-year-old son, James, is fighting for his life after he slipped away from his grandfather last week, fell in the family pool in Coral Springs and nearly drowned.
It happened while the Edwards were at the hospital, tending to their newborn.
"We're just trying to give him the strength that he needs right now," Jenna Edwards said. "He needs our positive energy, our thought and our prayers."
The Edwards are relying on family and friends to get through these difficult days, but complete strangers have inspired their belief that James will pull through. More than 8,000 of them are following and posting on a Facebook page titled "Turtle Power for James Edwards."
"Everything he does, it's for the (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)," Jenna Edwards said. "He loves them."
James' passion for the heroes in a half shell is the engine driving the cyber-support network that was spawned by social media.
Jenna Edwards said there has been an outpouring of love and support from people all over the world.
"They'll never know how thankful we are for the support," Skyler Edwards said. "It makes a huge difference."
James is still in critical condition. He's being slowly drawn out of medically induced hypothermia. Doctors dropped his body temperature to limit damage to his brain.
His prognosis is still unclear, but with the help of their faith and a whole lot of turtle power, the Edwards believe they know how this story will end.
"I can visualize him walking out those front doors, I really can, holding his hand, and I'm thanking God already for knowing what's ahead," Skyler Edwards said.