Keep Your Life Jacket On!
Six-fifteen-thirteen (06/15/2013)
At first glance this looks like the combination to my high school locker. In fact, it is the date that was almost on my headstone.
As a family we decided to spend Father’s Day weekend this year in St. George, Utah with Grandma and Grandpa at their condo. Saturday morning I had the urge to go running and explore the neighborhood a little. To the south of the condo is a golf course that was calling my name. 6:45 a.m. and the temperature was already in the high 70’s. As I reached the end of the golf course I was only at 1 mile and decided to hit the streets. After winding through neighborhoods and taking a right onto a major road leading back to the i15, I realized that my 4 mile run had now turned into an 8 mile run. There was no access through the hill side back to the condo and running on the freeway was not an option. I turned around and headed back the way I came from. I remember around mile number 6 I was repeating in my mind the little song that Dori sings during Finding Nemo, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” I finally reached my starting point.
Time to get ready for the water…
One thing that my father-in-law loves to do is to go boating. Ever since I have known this man he has owned a boat. I am not talking about a hunting/fishing or ski boat… his boat is a mini rocket that skips on the water.
We make our way to Sandhallow Reservoir and claimed our spot on the shore line. The Southern Utah scenery is amazing with the contrast of the blue water and the red sand. After some lunch, a sand castle, and getting use to the water, it’s time to go for a ride in Papa’s boat. I load my three kids into the boat while my wife stays on shore (at this time she is 7 months pregnant). The water is a little choppy as the wind is blowing a little. There is so much excitement on my kid’s faces as grandpa speeds across the water. We stop at a little cove that has some rocks that people are jumping off of into the water. My brother-in-law dives off the back of the boat to cool off and my oldest daughter and I decide we would like to do the same thing. I end up with all three kids in the water bobbing next to the back of the boat. The two youngest have life jackets on while my oldest daughter and myself do not… I know… stupid idea. After 5 minutes in the water, I load all the kids back into the boat and we start back to the shore to meet up with the rest of the family.
A couple of hours have passed by and it is around 4:30 in the afternoon. Needless to say, it is really hot! Mother Nature also decided to add a few more elements into the mix as the wind is now gusting and the water is now really choppy. Grandpa announces that he is going out one more time on the water and all three of my kids start rushing to the boat. I take a seat with my youngest on my lap and we are again speeding across the lake, this time with my sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and 4 kids. We reach the same destination that we swam in a few hours before and grandpa turns the motor off. The water is a little choppy, but not too bad for jumping in. While removing her life jacket, my oldest voices that she wants to jump in again. In unison, I along with my mother-in-law ask her if she should really take off her life jacket. She hesitates for a second and says yes since she wants to dive in. I get into the water with my eight year old son (who has a life jacket on) and hold on to the back of the boat. We were fully unaware of how the wind was working against us. My son is now 10 feet away from the boat and my daughter is struggling to bring him in. Letting go of the boat I get to my kids and help my son. Expecting my oldest daughter to be right behind me, I look back and see that she is now about 20 feet away from the boat. I let go of the boat again and swim to her to give her aid. As I reach her I can see that she is struggling a little and ask if she is ok. I turn to see how far we have to swim and now the boat is about 40 feet away. Instantly, knowing that we are going to need it, I yell for help. As I do this, a wave comes from behind me and I end up getting water in my mouth. I start choking on water and realize that I am actually the one that needs help. I quickly roll onto my back and start floating with my daughter next to me. My Father-In-Law acts to my call for help and dives in to assist us (he also does not have a life jacket). I am struggling to get the water out of my throat and begin wheezing and gasping for air. My Father-In-Law reaches us very quickly and pushes me up as I feel myself starting to go down. I am arching my back as hard as I can to stay afloat and trying to keep my mouth out of the water. As he wraps his arm around me to swim me back to the boat I look at him and hook my foot between my Daughters legs who is currently screaming that we are going to die. I was not going to leave my daughter in the water and I am willing to have her saved rather than me. This whole time my Sister-In-Law and Mother-In-Law are on the boat with the younger kids and yelling for help.
I found myself battling with myself. My body is going into survival/”freakout” mode while in my mind I was telling myself to “stay calm!” I could see the fear in my Father-In-Law’s eyes as both he and I are losing strength as we battle the water. I am struggling to even breathe as I am unable to get the water out of my lungs. Air is slowly wheezing in and out and for some reason all I can hear is my lungs struggling to keep me alive. Holding my daughter up with my leg and my Father-In-Law holding my upper body, I begin asking my Father in Heaven if this is really it…. What will my family do without me… Please take care of them… Please help us. As I was conversing with my Father in Heaven and preparing myself for the worst, I remember a calmness coming over me and a voice within my head saying that “all will be well”. With my head mostly in the water I can hear a motor coming close. My eyes move in the direction of the sound and I see two boats. As the boats reach us its passengers throw out life jackets and an inner tube in our direction. Instantly all three of us hook an arm onto the inner tube and a couple of men jump in to assist us. My Father-In-Law was surprised to see that the first man who jumped in to save us was his neighbor (his old Home Teacher) who moved to Southern Utah a couple of years ago.
After being dropped off from one of the rescue boats to our boat, I collapse in the passenger seat and hold my youngest daughter. I am very grateful for the quick response of my Father-In-Law. I am grateful for my Father in Heaven for preserving my life along with my Daughters.
One Year Later…
Lesson learned… Never, ever, jump in without your life jacket on. To this day I am still a little hesitant to get into water that is more than 5 feet deep. I can still vividly remember the sounds and feeling (both physical and mental) associated with this experience. I am truly grateful for my Father in Heaven for preserving my life. I am grateful for my opportunity to continue being a father and husband to my family. I am also grateful for the spiritual lifejackets our Father in Heaven has provided us with. Please do not jump into the “Lake of Life” without your spiritual life jacket on. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and the guidance it give me and my family. I have also learned that nothing in life matters unless it involves your family. It does not matter the size of the house, amount of the paycheck, or how many toys you have... all that matters is family. I love my family with all my heart and grateful that we are able to create many more memories instead of having their last one of me be drowning in Southern Utah.
Photo from my run the morning of 06/15/2013