On a beautiful June in 2010, our guides were preparing a lunch on a South Fork American river trip for our guests. One of the guests started yelling, "There's a person in the river! He's not moving!"
Alex, Nate and Jason ran down to the river to see a lifeless child moving fast in the swift water. They jumped into a tethered raft, paddled as hard as they could and quickly reached the child.
Life saving measures were executed by these trained professionals with Red Cross training in First Aid, CPR and also Wilderness Responder.
The three guides, Alex, Nate and Jason, brought the child back to life. Alex then ran an adrenalin-pumping one mile up stream over trees, boulders and river to see if there was anyone else in jeopardy. He found the child's parent and their friends and let the Dad know his son was alive and safe.
The Red Cross heard about the rescue through the whitewater rafting community. They verified the story with the regulatory agencies on that river... and then they called our office. As the story unfolded, the Red Cross representative asked our company to submit the information in behalf of the guides.
A Red Cross award ceremony hosted by KCRA TV showed a film with an interview of the guides. A beautiful luncheon accompanied the ceremony honoring Alex, Nate and Jason for being Hometown Heroes!
All three guides have worked for WET for over 10 years or more. They are professionals that put their lives last when it comes to providing a safe environment for our regular commercial guests. They have done river rescues in the past where they have faced death and lived to tell about it.
This rescue saved the life of a young boy who now has an opportunity to share water safety and life saving measures with his friends and family. We hope Joseph has a wonderful future of life, love and prosperity!
Congratulations! to WET River Trips' guides for their incredible rescue that day. Hats off to Alex, Nate & Jason for putting their own lives at risk to save another.
For those of you who dream of becoming a professional whitewater guide, here are some resources for you wannabes:
- Red Cross : First Aid and CPR; advanced training available
- Wilderness Responder : wilderness rescue techniques and life-saving measures
- Wilderness EMT : highest level of wilderness medical training
- White Water Guide School : professional whitewater rafting guide school in California
- Swift Water Rescue : rescue on fast-moving rivers and water; university approved
- Technical Rope Rescue : river bank and vertical scenario rescues
3 comments:
Thanks again for all you've done. It was a joy to meet all three of you.
We are incredibly proud of Jason, Alex, and Nathan. We also know that our guides are an amazing group of men and women that are extraordinarily dedicated to the saftey of our clients and the entire river commonubnity. We are grateful for the generous recognition provided by the American Red Cross of these River Professionals and the work that they do!
Alex, Nathan and Jason showed all of us the everyday courage that comes with being in a wilderness or outdoor setting. This time they were able to prevent a child from drowning.
Everyday, our professional guides put themselves on the line with each trip they do on the river. Everyday, they do that trip successfully without incident.
We are so thankful that our three guides were there to apply heroic measures to save a child! Joseph is destined for something special in his future. And, we hope to see it!
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