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Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Mason had visited the pond with his family. Mason had never been to the pond, according to his mother.
Mason Medlam, the 5-year-old autistic boy who was found submerged in a farm pond near Colwich on Tuesday, lost his fight for life Thursday morning at a local hospital.
"I don't know how to describe to any of you how terrible this day has been," Mason's mother, Sheila, said in a statement released to the public Thursday. "Mason was the most incredible son any mother could ask for. I remember the first time he was diagnosed, I thought my world had ended. I just couldn't imagine that there would be any true happiness after I learned he was disabled.
"Boy, was I wrong. Mason was a shining bundle of joy. He literally made life sparkle, and now that he is gone, the world is such a dark, dark place."
Mason had been missing for more than a half-hour from his home in the 4200 block of North 183rd West before he was found just before 11:15 a.m.
The pond is about a quarter-mile from his house and a mile southwest of Colwich. He was transported to Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis, where he died at 7:29 a.m. Thursday.
Mason defied the odds to live that long, and his family asked people to pray to Father Emil Kapaun that a healing would take place — just as it did for Chase Kear of Colwich. Kapaun, whose heroic deeds while serving as a chaplain during the Korean War and later in prisoner-of-war camps before his death in 1951, is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.
But Mason's recovery was not to be.
Sheila Medlam expressed gratitude "to everyone who took a moment out of their day to pray for Mason and our family," and for the local media's handling of the story.
"It amazed me how incredibly close we felt to our community because of the kind coverage and earnest hopes for our child's recovery. I can not thank the media, the people of Wichita, or the surrounding areas enough. You have given us a little of the strength we'll need to go on."
Mason had autism, and his mother said he had never been allowed outside without supervision. But the air conditioning went out at their house in the 4200 block of North 183rd Street West early this week and the family put a fan in the window.
Mason pushed the fan and a screen out and went to a nearby pond. Children and adults with autism are often attracted to water sources such as pools, ponds and lakes, according to officials at Heartspring, a Wichita-based nonprofit center for children with special needs.
Mason loved water and being outside, his family wrote on a page devoted to him on the Caring Bridge website:
"He was absolutely fearless and joyful. There has never been a more loving son. He is absolutely the center of our universe.
"Mason loved watching Yo Gabba Gabba, Blues Clues and Spongebob. He loved to be outdoors, playing with the chickens, riding the horses, and swimming in his baby pool.
"He will never be forgotten."
If she could have one wish, "other than to hold my son again," Sheila Medlam wrote in her statement, "it would be that a tragedy like this never happens again. If you have a pond or a pool or even a decorative lake on your property, do the right thing and make it secure.
"Please don't let any other mother have to endure the pain and agony of losing a child. It is a burden no one should have to bear."
A rosary and visitation will be at 7 p.m. today, and the funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Colwich.
