The Reprimanded Rescuer

I worked a lot on the waterfront. I always liked to swim and when I figured out that I was pretty good at it, I started to focus on it. After years of swimming lessons, before camp one summer, I spent 2 very cold weeks in Maine and got certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI) . I was already a certified lifeguard so it was a logical step. I wasn't a very fast swimmer or flashy in any way, but I could get the strokes down fairly well and I liked to teach. At camp, since I had my WSI, I was given more things to do on the waterfront. I taught a good amount of swimming and also things like snorkeling, sailing, canoing, etc.

One afternoon I was waiting for my snorkeling class to show up. I was sitting on the H-dock next to one of my campers, Aaron. He was also in my snorkeling class. He was a very hyper kid and was very hard to handle some days. I suggested that he do some kind of snorkeling or swimming activity every day because it helped him with his hyperactivity. That kid could swim all day and still keep the rest of the cabin up late talking.

Once everyone was present, we prepared to embark on a short swim in and out of the weeds in front of the old boathouse. In order to keep other boats aware of our expedition, we used a small white buoy (made of Styrofoam) with a red and white diving flag that stuck out of the top. The buoy was very old and in need of replacement. You could see the end of the flag stick through the bottom of the buoy and it had a small, metal piece on the end to hold it in place.

Since this was an intermediate to advanced class, I took them in to water that was about 6 to 7 feet deep. It was a pretty clear day and we were all diving really well. We were swimming down to the bottom to see what kinds of things we could find. Everything was going fine until Aaron and one of the other campers swam to the bottom and something scared them. I think it was a fairly large pike. When Aaron got startled (and he did often) he would swim up to the buoy and hold on for protection. Usually, there was nothing to be scared of and he was just being his nervous self. This time, however, he lost track of where the buoy was and came up straight under it. He came up so fast that he hit the back of his neck on the metal part of the flag stick.

He seemed stunned in the water for a second or two because he wasn't moving. When he regained his bearings, he swam up to the buoy and held on, but was slipping a bit and seemed kind of "out of it." So, I told everyone else to swim in and I grabbed him in a rescue stroke. I remembered that he hit his neck so I told him to relax and I put his arms over his head to stabilize his neck and spine. As I swam in with him, I asked him if his neck was hurting and he said "yes." I asked him if he felt tingling in his hands and feet. He said "yes." So, I decided that when we got to the beach I was going to put him on a stretcher, stabilize his whole body and take him to the infirmary.

We put him in the stretcher and he was lucid and talking so I didn't think that there was a problem, but you can't be sure with neck injuries, so I decided to keep him tugged in the wraps around his head, waist and feet. We put a neck-brace around his neck as well. We took him to the infirmary across the beach as people asked us what happened. I said, "he hit his neck, we are taking him to the infirmary to make sure he is ok, but he's going to be FINE."

As we were walking to the infirmary, we passed the water front director and she yelled at me. Point blank, yelled at me, "what happened? what are you doing? Is he ok?" She was panicking. I told her the exact same thing I told everyone else, walked passed her and in to the infirmary. When we got there, the nurse (wisely) called the paramedics who came to check out Aaron.

Now, you would think that this was a good thing. However, both the water front director and the director of the camp told me to go to my cabin and they would "call" me if they needed me. When the paramedics got there, they treated Aaron for minor injuries but said that there were no serious problems with his neck or spine. They also said, that the rescue was a "textbook" stabilization and that I had handled the situation flawlessly. This was what the nurse relayed to me when they left a couple of hours later.

Aaron's injuries turned out to be fine. I was hugely relieved that he was ok. I completed my first inline stabilization rescue from swim to beach (which was me treading water along side Aaron holding him up and talking to him). Then a calm and quickly executed backboard usage and carry without causing major panic. Finally, to the infirmary where the victim was taken care of immediately. I felt good about what I did because it was exactly how I learned it from recognition of an injury to crowd control to rescue execution. I was surprised I did it with that much confidence actually. And, it turned out that I did the right thing.

I was never thanked (unless you count Aaron and his parents). Neither the camp director nor the water front director talked to me to ask me what had happened. I was told that the director was actually "mad" at me because I had put Aaron on a rescue board. I was so surprised by this that I said to myself, the next time this happens, I am going to do it twice as good. The director of the camp and the water front director, that day, lost my respect. I was not the "model" counselor, but I knew my water safety better than anyone.

I'm not sure why I keep remembering these types of things. I really loved going to camp. I just think that things like these should not go unsaid. As I wrote earlier, after I stopped going to camp, I applied to the South Yarmouth Beach Rescue. I took the test for beach lifeguards and passed the first time. On many different occasions, I was part of the crew that watched over Seagull beach which holds more than 10,000 beach-goers. Our group for that beach usually consisted of 8 rotating guards either on foot, guard-stand, rescue board or jet-ski. They didn't punish people at the beach for making rescues (which almost everywhere on the planet wouldn't make sense) though they did expect a lot more of you. I think that out of all of the rescues I took part in out on the big beaches, the one with Aaron, at camp was my favorite to remember. Even in front of people who had no idea what to do and misguided leaders like the two directors I mentioned previously, I did my job well.