The day started out like any other.
Sunny in California. Starbucks morning with Ryan. And Church. It's hot here today - 100+ degrees. So we came home, grabbed food and headed to the gym. We went to the gym we usually don't go to because it's too big (and quite honestly I despise the "bells and whistles" gyms). Today we did, though, because they have a huge pool there. We figured a hard, hot workout followed by relaxing and dipping in the pool.
We were at the pool for 45 minutes when the commotion began. I was sitting on the pool steps reading my magazine. Ryan was laying out across from me. I saw a couple pointing in the water in the lane across from me. They were confused I think. I was confused by what they were pointing at until I looked in the bottom of the pool and saw a huge dark spot (which was a man). At that point they starting whistling & screaming at the lifeguards. The lifeguards came over, one jumped in immediately, dove to the bottom of the pool, picked the man up and they got him up on the side. At that point, 911 was called. They started CPR. He was not responding at all. The ambulance got there fast and got him on a stretcher, but during the whole 5-7 minutes nothing was happening. He was lifeless. I saw his hand just dangling in the pool. My heart ached. I'm sure he did not make it.
We left the pool and the gym.
All I could and can think about now is how short life is. I asked Ryan on the way home, "I wonder if he was happy today? I wonder what he had for breakfast? I wonder if he was mad at anyone? I wonder what he was thinking before he got in the pool?"
Life is so short.
Today marks 7 days, my one-week mark, of GAPS. I feel good. I feel happy. But I don't really feel like talking about that today. I'm skipping the blog post about my food, workout and anything else related to that.
I'll be back tomorrow - I promise. For today, just a few pictures from the weekend that make me smile. And all this to remember....
LIFE IS SHORT.
I witnessed a scene very similar to that last summer when I was playing tennis at a local park. There were tons of activities going on: tennis, tee-ball leagues, etc. The parking lot was full of cars. On my way out, there was a huge gathering of people and police cars. They were giving CPR to a guy right in the middle of the parking lot. I'm almost positive he didn't make it. Made me think a lot for the next several days.
ReplyDeleteI got that same feeling in 2008 when I crossed over the 35W bridge a mere 20 minutes before it collapsed. I could have been on that bridge at 6pm... had I not left work early that day...
Bob Stanke
It's amazing what can happen at any given moment. There is no day like today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Bob!
I have recently completed my Senior First Aid refresher training in Australia - and our instructor told us a story of a woman in the country who gave CPR to her husband for well over 2 hours until the paramedics reached them. She just refused to stop - and he survived.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that there can be positive outcomes from these situations also!
Love the reminder though to be present in life and not caught up in the mundane. I have lost loved ones and never had a chance to say goodbye or how much I loved them.
Michelle - YOU WERE RIGHT! They saved him!!!! We just saw the article in our newspaper today. It made me so happy. I felt at peace for him:)
ReplyDeleteIt was still a great reminder that life is short!