Hot Springs Rescue

This happened a while ago, but I keep forgetting to blog about it. So here's the story:

One of Leif's favorite things to do is go to the hot springs near Fillmore, Utah, and he's been there countless times on his way to and from work in northern Utah and just on fun trips with family or friends. Well, on this particular night, Leif had been at the hot springs for a while and was getting ready to leave when four guys from SUU showed up, so Leif decided to stay and play a little longer. One of the guys, named Michael, asked to borrow Leif's mask to dive to the bottom, which is approximately 30 feet deep. Leif dives there all the time. Well, after a minute or two, Leif asked Michael's friend if he was okay, and the friends reassured Leif that Michael is a diver and does stuff like that all the time. Leif, ignoring his instincts, continued visiting with the friend. Another minute or two passed and the guy still hadn't surfaced, so Leif swam to the bottom to check on him. When he got down there, he found Michael with eyes wide open, mask filled with water, and Michael, well....dead. Leif grabbed him and struggled to surface, pushing and pulling him over the rough rocky edge at the top, and laying the body on the ground where he administered CPR.

The ambulance arrived after what felt like forever to Leif. Leif had revived Michael, but he was still unconscious. The next day, Leif wasn't sure if he wanted to call some hospitals to find Michael because he thought the outcome would be too difficult to hear. He did not think it was going to end well. That face he found at the bottom of the hot springs was haunting him. But he had to know, so he found Michael at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, and after being connected to his room phone, he talked with Michael's mother. Michael was in a medically-induced coma because the doctors wanted to control how quickly his brain recovered, but his mom told Leif to call the next day when Michael should be awake again.

So Leif waited another day to hear the bad news....only to be surprised with the good stuff. Michael was alive and well! He had come out of the coma and had no brain damage. And he wanted to meet Leif. So Leif went to visit at the hospital, which was so good for him. He said to me, "I had to see his face alive to get that awful picture out of my head." Of course Michael's family and friends wanted to hear the missing details of the event, and they had all been speculating who the mystery hero was. There was even a reference to Leif being one of the three Nephites. :) Michael's mom hugged Leif and cried and thanked him for saving her son. It was not that boy's time to go. Leif gave Michael a fish as a get well gift. Cute.

I know I will be in good hands next week with my snorkel/scuba babe hero of a husband! Have you noticed the vacation ticker at the top of my blog? Caribbean cruisin' in one week! I can't wait. Lots to do this week.