why did douglas fail to come to the surface of the pool as he hope to?

Dear Student,

The sudden realization of being thrown into the pool did not make Douglas lose his wits immediately. Although frightened, he thought of a trick to come up to the surface but couldn’t execute it successfully. Douglas planned to allow himself to go down till his feet hit the bottom so that could make a big jump to come back to the surface like a cork. Then, he would lie flat on the surface of water and paddle to the edge of the pool. But his legs went weak so he couldn't kick properly. He panicked and felt suffocated by the water. His sense-perceptions gave way, his heart pounded loudly, his limbs became paralyzed with fear, his mind became dizzy and his lungs ached as he gulped water while making desperate attempts to come out of the water. Finally, he lost all his strength and willingness to keep struggling and blacked out.

Regards.