that first save
I have gotten this question so many times in my career. It’s one that I truly can’t answer. For a number of reasons:
What is your definition of a rescue?
If my primary job is to prevent drownings, I don’t want to make rescues.
I don’t have a list. It’s not something I want to keep track of.
I do, however, know my first rescue.
We go back to that very first summer as a lifeguard. At summer camp, every camper is swim tested before they are permitted to participate in water activities. We mitigated a lot of incidents this way. The girls were given colored swim caps based on where they were able to swim in the pool.
I found a very interesting phenomenon, though. Many campers participating in week-long overnight camp would admit to their limits. While far more campers within the troop camping structure would push theirs. Sometimes it was because their friends from home were there, but also the moms would push their daughters to try to make it to the deep end. There were girls who passed the deep end test, that probably shouldn’t have because they were pushed and they weren’t at all tired when they took the test.
When it was time for open swim after a morning and early afternoon full of camp fun, I was lifeguarding the deep end. As I was scanning, I saw a girl, with a deep colored cap on, moving slow along the rope that delineated the deep and middle ends. When I made it back for another sweep, a medium end cap was on the deep end side of the rope and the first girl was reaching for her head. Time to act.
From there, all I remember is jumping in, telling the girls to hold on to me, and pulling myself out of the pool. I was 15, my adrenaline was pulsing. The girl who passed the deep test, looked at her mom and said, “see, I can’t be in the deep end!” I will never forget how scared she looked. We made sure the girls were ok and after I was taken to the first aid station to calm down. An incident report was completed and that was it.
I remember this rescue. There are other memorable experiences I have had as a lifeguard, but this memory, I can feel it. It is ingrained in my brain forever.