Yesterday in church Joan's daughter Sarah shared an experience she had on Wednesday in Gulf Shores. She was staying in mom's Island Royale condo which is on the 10th floor. Below is what she shared: This morning, I was sound asleep (again) in bed, it's 7:am and Karen comes charging into the bedroom shouting, "someone's in the water yelling for help! He's drowning, you have to go save him!" I jump awake, grab the swimsuit off the end of my bed, a boogie board from the condo and run down 10 flights. As I get to the waters edge, I see a woman standing looking out, a small head with long hair bobbing partway out and a bigger guy holding a little boogie board farther out. I didn't hear anyone yelling, so I thought maybe it was a couple goofing around. I asked the lady on shore if someone really needed help, and she nodded wide0eyed, telling me he was screaming help a minute ago. I told her to call 911 then and started swimming out. I wasn't sure at first who was helping who, since the guy farther out had the float and the guy farther in didn't and was barely staying above the waves. Finally got to him, and realized the guy with the board is clinging to it sob/gasping. He's a big man maybe in his 40's, and his mini boogie board is just enough to keep his head up, but not much more. I remember how drowning people can drown their rescuers, so kept the board between him and me until he frantically grabbed it and circled around behind him until I was sure he was going to stay clutching the board and not keep flailing and grabbing. He's sobbing, "I'm so sorry! I'm gonna die out here in the ocean! I can't move my legs! I'm so sorry!" I tell him, "it's okay, your job is to hold onto the board. That's all you need to focus on. We've got you and will get you into shore." The other long-hair kid tells him, "I need you to kick, big dude." The guy repeats that he can't kick, his legs are jelly and he just can't do it. I reassure him again that he just needs to hold on to the board, and tell the kids to push on one side of the board, and I'll push on the other. We timed our efforts with the wave swells, and finally get past the breakers so they start pushing us in instead of out. We reach the sandbar/shallow as the sirens pull up. The EMT, Police and Coast guard run out onto the beach. Poor guy couldn't get his legs under him or stand so I've got his arm over my shoulder and mine around his waist supporting him. The other kids is holding his elbow telling him stand up, but he can't. Coast guard guy reaches us once we are about shin deep and takes his other arm over his shoulder and we drag him up while the kid scampers off. Once we got him ankle deep another rescuer reached us, so I passed my side over to him and walked up a little farther on the beach to get out of the way while the rest of the rescue team starts swarming him checking him over. At first he wasn't responding well enough so they sternal rubbed him and started pulling shock pads out but then his arm flutters and he answers them so they switch to EKG pads which I liked a lot better. Eventually another guy ran up who seemed to be with him so I went back to my condo after giving a police report. I think the reason he'd gotten out too far was the current was pulling out and because he was too big for the float most of his body was low in the water being pulled by the current. The float did save his life thought because it kept his head up long enough for the kid and I to get out to him. Getting my float under him too got more of his body closer to the surface so the current wasn't pulling him so much and with both of us fighting to get him in it was enough to get past the wave breaker point. I was thankful Karen heard him because the walkers farther up the beach didn't seem to hear him at all. Sound does carry up more than out I guess, and when you are down there on the beach all you hear are waves. It was kindof nuts. Karen asked me how often that happens, and I honestly can't remember it ever happening in all the years we've been coming to Gulf Shores. Miss Ruth had posted all about it on Facebook already by 9:00 am. I was kind of thinking about it afterwards, and it's not like I have any kind of lifeguard training, or anything close. I'm not even that great of a swimmer so I was trying to figure out why I jumped in. all I can guess is without training or even swimming skill, the only thing that helped me respond effectively was I think my hospital experience have taught me how to respond quickly and think critically to figure out how and what is needed, but good grief, talk about adrenaline. I had to chuckle at the officer who took my report. Once he learned I wasn't swimming with the guy, he asked where I was when I heard him screaming. I told him, "I was sound asleep in my bed on the 10th floor of that condo over there." HIs face was pretty funny. He asked how I'd heard him from there, and I told him one of the others in my condo was out drinking coffee on the balcony and heard him, then ran in and woke me. He goes, "Wait, you just jumped out of bed, threw on a swimsuit, and ran down?" I told him, "Well sir, I figured if someone really did need help out there, I'd be a lot more helpful to them in a swimsuit then in baggy pj's." He nodded thoughtfully, and said, "alright then." Below are some pictures a bystander took.
AND NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY that may or may not be true, you be the judge:
Not only was Sarah saving this man, she was AT THE SAME time fighting off a 5 foot shark, slamming her kicking foot into the snout as the shark came swimming up circling ready to take a big bite. The kick knocked the shark clear out of the water.
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