I posted this on Facebook when it happened, but not here. Truth be told, it was a really scary experience for me since he was vacationing in Alaska with his father. This happened two weeks ago, but I've been trying to get details of what exactly occurred AND who saved my son when he fell through the ice. Today, thanks to Facebook, I've found the guy that went in the icy waters after him, then carried him to safety.
Anyway, the story - my sons were vacationining in Alaska with their father a couple of weeks ago. They had the chance to help with the Yukon Quest by riding on snowmobiles with their Dad and Aunt, leading the dog sleds from their holding areas to the starting line. My youngest son, David, got way too cold before he could even join the effort, but my other son Sam was up for the ride. He was with his Aunt when their snowmobile's ski broke through the ice on a river, turned over and Sam went in the icy waters. It took 3 people to pull him out as his heavy winter gear saturated with water. One guy jumped in the water to help him, and had he not done that, I don't want to think about what might have been. Sam was carried off by two guys to safety, 911 was called, EMT arrived. His boots, having filled with water, froze almost immediately in the freezing cold, and his pants froze solid while he was trying to walk. His body temp dropped to 77 degrees, but was rising with the help of everyone around him. He's OK, but let me tell you, getting that call from Alaska while I'm sitting in Virginia scared the crap out of me...
The day I got the news, I scoured the web for any info on a boy falling through the ice during the start of the Yukon Quest, but I couldn't find a single story. I joined a FB site, the official Yukon Quest site, and hoped to see banter about it, but nothing...finally, today, nearly two weeks later, there's a story about a hero named Olaf that pulled a boy from the river after his snowmobile broke through the ice...I've since found his email and contacted him to thank him for saving my son.
Just wanted to share this here because there are truly selfless people in the world, and I'm so thankful for him. He's my son's hero
Anyway, the story - my sons were vacationining in Alaska with their father a couple of weeks ago. They had the chance to help with the Yukon Quest by riding on snowmobiles with their Dad and Aunt, leading the dog sleds from their holding areas to the starting line. My youngest son, David, got way too cold before he could even join the effort, but my other son Sam was up for the ride. He was with his Aunt when their snowmobile's ski broke through the ice on a river, turned over and Sam went in the icy waters. It took 3 people to pull him out as his heavy winter gear saturated with water. One guy jumped in the water to help him, and had he not done that, I don't want to think about what might have been. Sam was carried off by two guys to safety, 911 was called, EMT arrived. His boots, having filled with water, froze almost immediately in the freezing cold, and his pants froze solid while he was trying to walk. His body temp dropped to 77 degrees, but was rising with the help of everyone around him. He's OK, but let me tell you, getting that call from Alaska while I'm sitting in Virginia scared the crap out of me...
The day I got the news, I scoured the web for any info on a boy falling through the ice during the start of the Yukon Quest, but I couldn't find a single story. I joined a FB site, the official Yukon Quest site, and hoped to see banter about it, but nothing...finally, today, nearly two weeks later, there's a story about a hero named Olaf that pulled a boy from the river after his snowmobile broke through the ice...I've since found his email and contacted him to thank him for saving my son.
Just wanted to share this here because there are truly selfless people in the world, and I'm so thankful for him. He's my son's hero