The Universe will always provide opportunities for us to create those defining moments in our lives so that we may understand who we really are, or to discover who we are becoming.
A few days ago my sister-in-law posted on Facebook that two of her brothers rescued a little boy from a submerged SUV in British Columbia.
As details gradually seeped out, we learned that John and Mark, the two eldest boys of five offspring had gone fishing together for a vacation. They had planned to go to a different lake, but a family member who lives in B.C. suggested they go to Whiteswan.
After the first attempt to free the boy failed because John couldn’t gain access to the vehicle, then couldn’t extricate the little guy from his car seat, they and one other camper went in with what I’m guessing was a filet knife or something since Mark is an avid hunter/fishermen, and cut the seat belt.
The little boy was blue in colour and had been under water for a long time. Apparently the mother and daughter seemed so traumatized after escaping that they appeared to forget the boy was still in the truck.
Other campers rendered CPR, paramedics arrived on the scene and were able to revive the boy, but the brothers were certain he would be brain-dead. They were devastated to the point that the one with children of his own had the dry heaves that night as the shock set in.
The RCMP gave the brothers the names of some counselors who could help them deal with their trauma, and they cut their vacation short and returned to their respective homes in Alberta.
As fate would have it, however, an RCMP officer contacted them to advise that the little boy was going to be alright. The article below says more tests are needed, but we hope he will make a full recovery.
I’m willing to bet my brothers-in-law are forever changed by this event that defies coincidence. They said there were many things that unfolded to put them where they were at just that moment, but Mark wasn’t up to talking about it so we’ll have to get the details later.
What a different outcome that young family may have experienced if those details had not lined up the way they did.
// Kudos, John and Mark Chapman. You’re awesome.
KIMBERLEY, B.C. – Two Alberta brothers are being celebrated as heroes after rescuing a five-year-old boy from an underwater vehicle in southeast B.C. on Saturday.
Kimberley RCMP Cpl. Chris Newel said the two men, both in their fifties, were enjoying their long weekend at Whiteswan Lake when a vehicle crashed through the forest and plunged into the water.
A mother had been driving her 16-year-old daughter and five-year-old son along a forest service road toward a number of campsites when she lost control, Newel said, and the vehicle headed straight into the lake.
The mother and daughter were able to escape and swim to shore, but Newel said the son remained trapped in his car seat as the vehicle sank to about two metres below the surface.
The brothers, from Lethbridge and Turner Valley, Alta., immediately jumped into the lake and swam to the boy’s aid. After several attempts, they finally managed to free the child.
“There was a multitude of things that came together at the right time to have a good ending to this,” said Newel, adding the outcome likely would have been tragic if the brothers had not been there.
Newel said a few other people also need to be credited with the boy’s rescue, as they performed CPR on him when he was pulled to shore and got all three of the vehicle’s passengers to hospital.
The five-year-old is reportedly doing well, but several medical tests still need to be performed before he is released. Newel said the mother and daughter suffered no notable injuries.
The RCMP are still investigating why the mother lost control of the vehicle, and brought in an analyst to do a scene examination.
However, Newel said they may “never know the exact reason.”
“It’s your typical gravel forestry road,” he said. “It’s fairly easy to lose control in those types of situations.”
Newel said the vehicle has already been pulled from the lake.
— By Kim Nursall in Vancouver
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