Family of surfer thanks rescuers



How does a family begin to thank a group of people for saving a life? How does a family begin to thank strangers who showed a kindness and compassion that we as a family will never, ever forget?

Yesterday, my eager husband decided he wanted to surf off the coast of the Yachats State Park. Not long after he got out into the water, the tide started churning up and he completely disappeared from sight.  Fearing the worst, I dialed 911 and was amazed by the response from fire and rescue and the Coast Guard. A kind stranger (Lisa Spitzmiller formerly of Eugene) stayed by my two young children's sides until my husband was back safely with us almost two hours later.  Another stranger, whom we regret we never got their name, stood by with his hand on our eldest daughter's back just supporting her.  Shawn and Autumn Townsend (from Maple Ridge, BC) spotted Ron on their telescope and kept him in their line of sight (and me with regular updates) as we waited for the Coast Guard to bring Ron in to shore. A million thanks to Lisa, Shawn, Autumn and the unnamed stranger for your kindness.

Unfortunately, we did not get the name of the first individual from Yachats Rural Fire Protection who arrived on the scene, but thank you for getting there so quickly. Next in line was Sheila Corley, also from Fire Protection, who stayed and supported our family in the most empathetic way possible through the entire event.  Frankie Petrick, on top of her gentle kindness, demonstrated her incredible ability to organize and run a tight ship as the entire rescue was executed flawlessly. Thanks also to Dustin the paramedic who endured my incessant questions and kept his gentle sense of humor through the entire event – which kept me hopeful. Lastly, thanks to Dave Chamberlain and Mark (who helped get us all get home). There were many other unnamed members on the local team who we also want to thank; they all showed such incredible kindness and dedication.  The remarkable thing we learned yesterday is that almost all of these individuals are volunteers. How remarkable that they volunteer their time to their community and to those of us lucky enough to visit it.

Last but not least, thank you to the Coast Guard helicopter team who courageously did the water retrieval at a point when Ron didn't have much left in him to keep paddling to stay away from the rocks. Thanks also to the team for taking the time to have a conference call with our family early last evening:

Lieutenant Brian Breguet

Lieutenant Nathan Gruver

Lieutenant Dave McLure

Lieutenant Erik Walters

You all did a remarkable job and we want to thank you so much.

In an age when it is easy to forget the beauty and kindness of the human spirit, an event like this happens and you realize that for all the bad in the world, there is so much good, caring and courage. From the bottom of our hearts – thank you to all of you. We wish we could find the words to do you all justice.  



Ron, Colleen,

Sophie and Tessa

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

For the complete article see the 07-21-2010 issue.

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