Olympic great Bode Miller on drowning tragedy: 'I don't think it gets easier'

The 19-month-old daughter of U.S. Olympic skier Bode Miller drowned in an Orange County swimming pool. Photo / Instagram

Olympic skiing great Bode Miller has opened up on the loss of his daughter Emeline who died in a drowning tragedy seven months ago.

Miller and his wife Morgan Beck welcomed a baby boy two months ago which he said has helped play a part in overcoming the shock death in June.

Emeline Miller passed away on June 10 after her mother, Morgan Beck, found the child floating in the water.

The 19-month-old had slipped out the door of her family's home in Orange County, California, without detection, made her way onto a neighbour's property and ended up in the pool before anyone realised she was gone.

Beck gave birth to the couple's third child in October - a boy. It took the couple three weeks to decide on a name before going with Easton Vaughn Rek Miller who weighed in at a touch under 10 pounds (4.5 kgs).

Miller said the birth of Easton is helping to heal the pain of losing Emeline.

"If there's one thing that can help to heal and fill that spot in your heart, it's a baby. He's a special one. Besides the lack of sleep, it's been a really nice process to be able to go through." Miller told the NBC's Today show recently.

"There's a blessing to being so busy in a way. Your days go buy really slow because there's a lot of stuff and the kids. That kind of emotional strain is still there. Then the months just fly buy. Any parent can relate to that. It's been unbelievable that it's six months since we lost Emmy…we see the path forward a little bit. It's trying keeping going and stay positive. It's not easy and I don't think it gets much easier."

"The kids talk about her all the time which is really good but obviously hard too. We have to. She's everywhere in our house. You feel the loss but she's still a part of our family."

In an emotional interview on the Today show in July, Miller spoke out about what he sees as a lack of information surrounding water safety.

"It's the number one way that you could potentially lose your kid," the 40-year-old skier said.

"If it's number one for me, I want to know about it. I've been to all the paediatrician meetings and check-ups on our kids — I can't say it's come up one time. Not a single time. "
Bode and Morgan believe the tragic topic should be at the forefront of conversations for new parents.

"This should be the number one thing that we talk about," Morgan said.

"And the same way we check off those milestones for — is your child walking, how many words does your child have — that next question is, have you started swim lessons?

"Putting that in the parents' head as not only do you need to have these barriers but you need to be hyper aware."
The couple announced the passing of their daughter Emeline in mid June, with Bode taking to his personal Instagram page with an emotional post.

"We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday. Never in a million years did we think we would experience a pain like this," the post read.

"Her love, her light, her spirit will never be forgotten. Our little girl loved life and lived it to it's fullest everyday. Our family respectfully requests privacy during this painful time."

View this post on Instagram

We want to thank our friends, family and every one of you who sent a message, said a prayer or donated for the overwhelming expression of support - we are truly touched and blessed. Our midwives started a gofundme campaign to raise funds and we intend to donate these funds raised to worthwhile causes connected to water safety education. We are inspired to make our baby girls memory go forth and help prevent as many drownings as possible. We will post more soon on our plans and efforts.

A post shared by Bode Miller (@millerbode) on Jun 19, 2018 at 6:22pm PDT

Morgan and Emeline were visiting a neighbour when she fell into the pool and drowned "in the blink of an eye" according to Bode, who wasn't home at the time.

"A child under 30 pounds can drown in 30 seconds and I just keep counting the 30 in my head. That was all I needed," Morgan said.

"It's one of those things where as a parent now when you go to someone else's house, survey the home to see if it's a safe place for your child to be."