You just never know when a skill you learned decades ago might come in handy.
Twenty years ago, Rosa Kouri of Victoria, British Columbia in Canada took a lifeguarding course when she was a teen. She never had to rescue anyone back then, but a recent trip to the lake put those rusty skills to very good use.
Rosa was spending the day with her family at Thetis Lake when she heard a man crying out for help. The lake has a sudden drop-off, and the man was desperately trying to keep himself, his wife, and their son afloat. Rosa handed off her 4-month-old daughter to her mother and dashed down the hill and into the water.
Without thinking, Rosa dove into the water and swam hard for the family. When she reached them, they were so panicked that they repeatedly pushed her under the water, but Rosa soldiered on.
“I think I just grabbed all the limbs I could, and I tried to remember my lifeguard training – which was a long time ago when I was a teenager – and just tried to tow them in,” Rosa recalled.
Rosa was aiming for the drop-off ledge, hoping to get the adults to a spot where they could touch the bottom. Yet as she approached the drop off, Rosa couldn’t muster the strength to haul them all up. That’s when she heard the bystanders calling out encouragement from the shore. She called them for help, and they responded by forming a human chain to drag Rosa and the family to shore! The grateful mom praised those bystanders on Facebook.
“I was really grateful to the women on shore who shouted encouragement and stayed with the rescue, formed a human chain, and assessed the family’s vitals and helped to get a nurse when they got out of the water. They acted quickly and heroically. Not everyone can and should be jumping into the water and the last thing anyone wants is more people in distress.”
Once they were safely out of the water, the family expressed their gratitude to Rosa and the others while gasping for breath. Rosa was relieved that those long-ago lessons returned to her when she needed them most, especially because she was never formally taught how to rescue groups!
The heroic mom has now made it her mission to improve the safety of Lake Thetis. She’s requested more signage about the water drop-off and is campaigning to get lifeguards at beaches in the region.
Rosa insists she was just at the right place at the right time and says anyone would have done what she did, but we know a hero when we see one! Thank goodness this tough mama was there when that family needed her.
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