A near tragedy changes two lives for ever.
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Taylor
“Base, this is tower eight, I have an ADV, send backup and EMTs. Heading into the water.”
I slammed my walkie-talkie down on the tower railing and quickly shimmied off my black athletic shorts, leaving me in just my red one-piece. As I reached for the shoulder strap to my can the walkie crackled to life. “Roger that, tower eight, active drowning victim at your location, sending backup and EMTs.”
Kathy’s voice was surreally calm as adrenaline continued to flood my system. Can in hand I took the first step then jumped down into the sand, eyes glued on the face just barely staying above the surface. Hold on, sweetie.
“Make Way! Make Way!” I sprinted toward the water, startled beach goers giving ground as I went. It was a Saturday in August, and the place was packed, but I’d studiously kept a path between my tower and the water’s edge clear for just this reason, getting there in less than five seconds. As I did my peripheral vision saw Jared, from the next tower, hit the sand and sprint in my direction.
I high-stepped over the shallows for as long as I could before diving in, pushing through the water with a breaststroke that kept my head above the water so I could watch my victim. She was still up, but wouldn’t be much longer. She looked almost peaceful, except for the panic in her eyes. Most people think of a drowning person as someone waving their arms and splashing around, calling for help, but it isn’t true. A person struggling might do that, but someone in imminent danger of going under doesn’t move much, and the brain, totally consumed with breathing at that point, won’t allow for any noise at all.
I kept closing the distance, stroke after stroke. Stay up, please, just a little longer, I’m coming. I’d moved another twenty yards, and she was gone.
I swore in my head. I quickly judged her disappearance at maybe thirty yards from where I was. I switched to a faster crawl. I knew how long it would take me to cover that distance, and I counted it off in my head as I went.
When my internal countdown hit zero I stopped, kicking into an eggbeater and rising as high as I could in the water, turning a quick circle for any sign of my victim. Nothing. I slipped out of the shoulder strap, since I couldn’t dive effectively with my can, and lifted my hips over my shoulders to dive down. Five feet below I turned another circle, ignoring the sting of salt in my eyes. I didn’t see her. I felt the current for a second, pushing me west, towards open water. I swam that direction for a moment. There! A flash of orange to my right, and just maybe the shape of a body.
I kicked hard. Water distorts distance, so she was farther away than I initially thought, but I refused to surface. My lungs were screaming as I was finally able to reach out and grab her wrist. A moment later I had my arm around her waist and was pushing toward the sky above. Breaking through, I gasped in a lungful of air. My can was floating about five yards to my right, so I kicked towards it, pulling the girl along on her back.
When I reached it, I grabbed the floatation device and slipped it under the girl’s backside. “Sweet Jesus,” I got my first good look at her. Just a kid, barely eighteen. I can’t let her die.
My fingers found the pulse point on her neck. I exhaled heavily; she wasn’t breathing, but her heart was still beating. It was weak and rapid, but it was there. Shore was over a hundred yards away, it would take me at least two minutes to get her back, maybe more. She’d be gone by then. I kicked back into an eggbeater, balancing her hips on the can and one of my arms under her shoulders. Her head lolled back as I opened her mouth, sealing mine around hers and blowing hard. I could feel the resistance from the seawater inside her lungs. I waited a second and tried again.
As I began to inhale for a third Jared arrived. He slipped his own can under her shoulders and stabilized her in the water, letting me use both hands to close her nose and open her jaw. A third breath, than a fourth.
“Come on, Come on.” A fifth. She stirred in our arms. I quickly rolled her towards me, lifting her high as I could out of the water. I felt warm liquid, and probably a little vomit, wash over my shoulder as she began to cough.
The girl began to struggle. One of the first things you learn in lifesaving is that a panicking person will climb onto anything in the water still floating. That includes you. You also learn that if the floating object sinks, they will let go.
I let her push me under the water, and resurfaced on the other side of my can after she released me. When she reached for me again I shoved the can under her arms and held it there.
“Hey, hey, we’ve got you. You’re going to be okay, alright? I promise.” She didn’t have much strength to start with, so she calmed relatively quickly, especially once she realized the red flotation device would support her just fine.
Jared gave her his as well. “I’ll haul us back, you keep her up.”
I nodded, and he shouldered both straps while I wrapped my arm around the girl’s waist. I heard her cough again, her eyes closed. “Hey, stay with me. We’re going to take you back to the beach. Hold on to these, kick if you can.” I shook the floaters. She didn’t even have the strength to respond as Jared began to pull. I kicked, and she held on.
As we approached the beach I could see an ambulance on the sand, along with one of our yellow beach trucks. There was also a young woman in a blue bikini standing at the water’s edge with a panicked look on her face. She was yelling something, but I couldn’t make it out.
The girl tried to slip off several times, but I held her steady. As soon as I could feel the bottom under my feet I stood, lifting her clear and began walking her to the EMTs. I placed her on the gurney. Her breathing was rough, but independent.
“How’d you find her?” The nearest EMT shined a light in her eyes while the other slipped an O2 hose under her nose.
“Not breathing, weak pulse. Rescue breathing done on the water. She sucked in a lot of ocean.”
“Oh my God, Kelsey!? Kelsey, please answer me! Is she okay? Please!” I got a good look at the woman in the blue bikini, way too young to be her mother. Sister, maybe? Anyway, I recognized her as the one I’d seen flirting with that guy before I’d noticed my victim. One of the EMTs started talking to her, so I just tuned it out.
“All right, let’s get her out of here.” They carried the bed over the sand and loaded it into the back of the ambulance. It was the one the city had bought special just for this, with the wide tires and all wheel drive, built for driving on sand.
As I watched the EMTs drive away, a towel was draped around my shoulders, along with an arm gently steering me toward the yellow beach truck. I sat down on the tailgate while someone else settled next to me. It was my boss, Jennifer, who slipped a sports drink into my hand. “Now, you finish that while we take you back to base, alright?” I nodded, staring at the blue bottle in my hand. I was starting to feel shaky as the adrenaline began to leave my system. “And Taylor?”
“Yes, Ma’am?”
“Good job.”
Alyssa
When I arrived at the beach with my sister I was on a cloud. The last day of my summer internship had been the day before. I’d gone into my supervisor’s office at three o’clock as scheduled for my exit interview. I thought things had gone well, and we’d just won the big contract I’d been assisting with a few days beforehand. I’d even made a couple of suggestions that had gotten integrated into the final designs.
“Hi, Aly, come in, sit down.”
The next hour was wonderful. Michelle was very positive, complimented everything I’d done. She had a few suggestions, of course, things to focus on during my senior year, but overall, I was glowing.
Then there was a knock on the door.
MIchelle looked up. “Come in!” The door opened, and Simon Urbanczyk walked through the door.
“I hope I’m not interrupting?”
“No, we were just finishing. It’s Alyssa’s last day.”
The founder, sole owner, and CEO of the company turned and regarded me. “So I understand. You’ve made quite an impression here, young lady. This is for you.” He handed me a white envelope, and when I opened it I saw a check in my name for a thousand dollars. Given the unpaid nature of my internship, I almost choked.
“Sir?”
He held up his hand. “Everyone who worked on the Marina Heights project is getting a nice bonus, and Michelle assures me that you earned your part.””
“Um, thank you, sir.”
I stood and he shook my hand. “I understand you’re a senior at USC this year?” I nodded. “Well, when you finish your degree I hope you’ll consider coming to work for us. I’m sure we can find a place for someone of your talent and abilities.”