I was so scared. There was no bottom left to the sea floor. They were getting so far away, anyway, I doubted they could hear me. My son, Joshua Scurlock, drowned while swimming with a friend near Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. Kam was 6 years old at the time. I’ve been in the communication field my whole career. 45 0 obj
Instead he did the best thing possible, yell for help.
endobj endobj If caught in a rip current, don't fight it! They discussed swimming sideways, but could detect no advantage to one side or the other. The water was friendly again. I’m now trying to raise rip current awareness in my state so that no one else loses their life. Of course, he feels extremely guilty for not going back in the water to save him, something he could not physically do. A number of such celebrities passed away in 2020 including Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman and Naya Rivera. endobj
8 0 obj I tried in vain to reach for my sister, who was struggling to swim towards the beach.
Then I heard sirens and was soon taken to the hospital. I arrived a few seconds later and grabbed the boy at which point he tried to climb on top of me. (NOAA). ���Ly]���*�rl�&��. I was at Wrightsville Beach, NC, 7 years ago (I think) and a hurricane was blowing up the coast. Don’t assume you’re invincible. We headed back out where we couldn’t touch bottom again, and enjoyed the waves, which seemed to be getting bigger. The service says the best way to escape from a rip current is to swim parallel to the shore into an area of a weaker current then swim back to shore at an angle.
They finally came in, but further south from us, finding advantage in going side-ways.
I don’t remember if my brother or cousins swam out with me. I noticed him struggling in the water and crying out for help. I had simply turned to my left to swim back, and couldn’t. Plus, I was suddenly so very hungry. I don’t know the answer but I’m doing everything in my power to change it. The beaches were only at moderate, or yellow, risk for rip currents Monday. Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash on January 26 in Calabasas, California, alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. xڭZKs�6��W�Ur��!>��e'��L���f�T�(���� �8�~���ig�j�UF�� �ht�P�:�����/�^}���\��8T�Ww�����E\oT�?]����#���w�-����(Bo��J��}{��;����� I wish I had read about rip currents before this happened. I could not swim the seemingly easy 5 yards onto the beach. Gabi and her brother Kam are good swimmers but Gabi panicked and was fighting the current. (MORE: How to Stay Safe From Rip Currents). It is my hope that you take these safety rules and the dangers of rip currents to heart.