Obviously a lot of you travel to tropical locations. While reading articles tonight, I found a story about a family on a fancy beach vacation. It got me thinking about an experience I had and I’ve decided to share it here.
I remember talking to my dad that day. He said I should write down my thoughts before my brain changes the memory. I listened to him and that’s what I’ve posted below. For those who choose to read on, thanks for indulging me. For those who don’t, obviously this has nothing to do with miles, but it does have to do with travel. Anyway, I’ll have another mileage deal for you tomorrow.
Today is November 23rd, 2010. It’s a Tuesday. Nothing about it seemed extraordinary when I woke up 15 hours ago. It was my second morning waking up in Puerto Rico on a vacation with Linda (who I call Z). We’d been having a great time down here – going to an amazing rainforest, seeing waterfalls, hanging in the pool, making fun of some of the goofy tourists, and falling in love with the bags of hot doughnuts that go for $1.25 outside the Wal-Mart. So on this nondescript Tuesday, we woke up and headed to the beach to relax for a couple hours before taking our rented jeep to Old San Juan. We took a bottle of water, some magazines, and a pack of Oreos, stuffed them in our backpack and grabbed our spots on the lounge chairs. Monday was rainy and storm-filled, but the sun was out today and so were the crowds. Lots of families and couples on chairs and in the ocean. Z was having fun laying out but I dragged her in the water to play in the waves. The red flag was waving and conditions were rough with the aftermath of last month’s hurricane. But everyone was staying pretty shallow and we did too. It was a blast.
With the waves so crazy, it was pretty tiring to be in the water. We came back to the chairs to rest and Z was happy to lay out again. There were characters all around, so we were doing our favorite pastime – people watching with a running commentary. The guy who was the butt of most of our jokes was this wacky looking dude who walked onto the beach wearing a fedora. He was the only nut for miles with a surfboard, and his attempts were pure comedy. The water was in no condition for surfing, so we kept watching and were laughing constantly. Eventually I dragged Z off the chair, and she found a spot down the beach where there was no crowd and the conditions were calmer. Everything started out fine – we were having all the same fun. But she started to go a little deeper, and from there, everything changed quickly.
The thing that is still so shocking and scary is how quickly we went from having silly fun to being in serious trouble. It happened in a second. An instant. This end of the beach had deep holes in the sand, so we quickly got out to a point where we couldn’t stand anymore. I found out later that we were caught in something called a riptide, and almost instantly we found ourselves out in the middle of the ocean. I think I knew we were in trouble as we were drifting because I tried to throw Z in toward the shore. I think I used a lot of strength because my left shoulder still can’t move and she still has my fingermarks on her back. The thing I can’t stress enough is how fast this happened. Almost instantly, we were just…gone. We were stranded at sea. I saw her struggling just like I was, as the waves kept pulling us under. We were too deep to put our feet down, and had reached the point of exhaustion. The waves were relentless – we were getting hit harder and harder and every wave was pulling us deeper. The most terrifying part was that nobody knew we were out there. It was a feeling of absolute hopelessness. We were getting weaker with every second with no chance of combating the waves. With all the volume I could muster, I yelled “HELP!!!” I had enough strength to yell it twice so I did it as desperately and loudly as I could. I found out later that it got the attention of a 21 year-old kid named Elijah who is very familiar with the water and actually sailed to Puerto Rico from Rhode Island. He was on vacation with his parents and they had fallen asleep in their chairs. Without any hesitation, he just dove in the water and came after us. The strange thing about being in this situation is that you split into 2 distinct personalities. One part of me knew we were in the worst kind of trouble and screamed out. The other part of me couldn’t believe I was yelling for help. How could I be drowning in the ocean? I couldn’t die like this. This only happens in the movies. It’s not real.
We struggled on for a long time – every wave was taking more energy away and pulling us deeper. Whatever I though my limit was, I had gone way past it. I am 170 pounds and muscular, so I have no idea how Z was holding on. She was getting pummeled by wave after wave, and swimming up just in time to get hit again. And then Elijah finally arrived. He couldn’t help us, and actually ended up putting himself in the same danger, but the thing he was able to give us was hope. Until then, it was a hopeless situation. To know we had no hope – to know we are getting weaker and being pulled deeper with nobody knowing we were even there – I knew we would die. I was convinced of it, because there was no other possibility. But now at least someone else with fresh legs knew what was going on. I saw Z with Elijah and she kept saying “I can’t! I can’t!” She was exhausted and couldn’t make any progress through the waves. I found out later that at this time, the lifeguards had asked the jet ski company to help us. Security was running through the hotel and down the beach to do something, but we had no idea. We couldn’t see anyone and we couldn’t hear anything. All we could feel was exhaustion with the nonstop waves that were pulling us deeper.
The jet skier tried to come out to our rescue, but the wave conditions kept tipping him over. Even on a jet ski, he couldn’t get out there. He injured his knee to the point where he couldn’t bend his leg anymore. Finally, he made his way to me and I had no more energy to speak, but I pointed at Z, asking him to save her first. He tried to do it, but couldn’t stay upright. Wouldn’t you know it, but the same surfer who we’d been making fun of when he arrived, came to Z’s rescue and saved her life. She grabbed on to his board and he took her in to land. Relief. She was safe.
But now Elijah, the jet skier, and the surfer were all gone. I was alone, and in a much deeper spot than before. I had become separated from the group and was floating away. Minutes were going by now, and I had absolutely nothing left in my tank. I knew there was no way I could hold on. I knew what was going to happen, and started thinking about Z having to make the call that I had died. And I thought of my family having to receive that call. I wasn’t just thinking it…I knew it was going to happen. I had not one bit of anything left to give. I tried to yell for help again but my voice had disappeared. Even then, my mind couldn’t grasp that this was really happening. We were just playing in the ocean and now I’m about to die? One last big wave hit me and took me under. I tumbled a few times and couldn’t find my way above water. I don’t know how else to describe it but as it is happening, your mind is playing tricks on you, not allowing you to realize that you are about to become a news story. That part of your mind can’t handle it, so it stays in disbelief, even as you are drowning in the middle of the ocean. Out of nowhere, the jet ski guy showed up and I had no strength to get in. I held on and he pulled me to shore. A crowd of people had gathered. Z was waiting, pale with fear and exhaustion. They had been asking if she was ok, but she was yelling for them to go find me. She couldn’t see me from the beach and thought I was gone. A team of security circled around me and had called an ambulance. There wasn’t one hotel guest in the water anymore. They were watching to see what would happen. I tried to stand up but physically couldn’t. It was the first time my arms and legs have ever literally been unable to work, which is a freaky and terrifying thing. My lungs could not get air. For minutes, I tried to move, tried to breathe, and I physically could not.
Obviously, I am ok. And Z is ok. But there are these strangers (jet ski guy, surfer guy, Elijah, the security guy who ran to jet ski guy) that I will probably never see again and they are people I could never thank enough. There were so many heroes who saved our lives. Jet ski guy was the only one who could have made it out to me to save me…Elijah gave us hope when we were so hopeless that we were preparing to die…and it turns out that surfer guy wasn’t even a guest at the hotel. He was staying down the beach somewhere. The only surfer to be seen anywhere and he was right there in that spot at that time. It feels like he was there today for one reason – to save Z’s life. Without the combined efforts of all of these people, at least one of us wouldn’t have made it out of the ocean alive.
Things I’ve learned? Obviously to be so careful in the ocean. To not push it in any stupid ways with my life. But the thing I learned most was how badly I don’t want to die. And, to be honest, it’s something I didn’t know before. Not like this. I still don’t think my brain and my heart knows it, but somewhere in the deepest core of me, I realize that I will fight with every ounce of everything I have to live. I desperately want to live. I know it because I felt it today. It’s something so primal in us that I don’t know if you can understand it until it happens. But I think it’s a feeling that comes to anyone who has ever been in a near-death experience. I had no idea how desperately I didn’t want to die until I had no choice in the matter. And I don’t think you can go back once you know this feeling.
But the thing is, lots of people have had this feeling in their lives and still not survived. Lots of people want to live and still die. All you have to do is google ocean vacation death like I just did and you’ll probably get shivers. The ocean is powerful enough to destroy continents, so two people are no contest for it. This was a miracle. All those miles that Linda has run, it was like they all led up to today. All the weights that I’ve lifted feel like they led to today. The surfer showing up in that spot. And on and on. I haven’t gone to a church or place of worship for years, but when I was out there and there was no way I could live, I said “God please help me.” It was my last resort and it just came out of me. Whether you want to believe it or not, the huge waves came to a stop and give me a moment to stay afloat. I feel like a miracle happened today. And I ask you to please be careful in your lives. To just be so careful with your lives. Because when it goes, it can go so fast. In a second we went from playing games to fighting for our lives with our last gasp of energy. If one thing would have gone differently – a leg cramp, a wave holding us under too long, hitting our head on the bottom of the ocean – it would have been over. If she hadn’t made it, I would have never gotten over the guilt of dragging her in the water. And vice versa, she would have never gotten over the guilt of going to that spot at the end of the beach. Today was a miracle. If you ever get in trouble, call out for help early. It’s better too early than too late. If you wait too long, it could cost you everything. I found out from one of the people on the beach that they just thought we were out there playing. Please be careful with your lives.
