I Almost Drown

From: Carlos (carnelujai@msn.com)
Story type: Angel
Location: Lima-Peru
Source: Form Submission
Date submitted: Sun Jan 10 12:55:47 2010

I am currently 41 years old and this happened when I was about 14 years old. I was at the beach with my little brother and my dad on a very sunny day, we just ate and my father told us not to go in the water and wait for an hour after we have eaten. He fell asleep and I went in the water.

I have always being a strong swimmer and enjoyed swimming so I could not wait an hour to go in. so I waited until I was sure that my father was asleep and went in. By the way this happened in Lima Peru. The Pacific Ocean over there has very big waves and the water current is strong, so when I was swimming I started getting stomach cramps and I could not control my leg. they stopped working and I could not kick anymore which is very important when you are swimming. as a result of that I started sinking. I tried and tried to stay afloat but was impossible to do because I could not move my legs. When I realized that I was going to drown I started yelling for help. I remember being alone in that area so nobody was really around and nobody could hear me, but I kept yelling for help until I got tired could not fight anymore and gave up. and that is when it happened....

I started to see my whole life up to that day go through my mind. I saw being born, being a little kid, my parents with me, playing with my friends, my siblings, everything and I mean everything that I had experienced up to that day went through my mind in a split second and the images were so clear that it felt as if I was watching a movie.

anyways I started sinking have swallowed a lot of water and suddenly I felt a hand on my hair. I felt being pulled up to the surface, the guy that pulled me up was a surfer and he and his friend told me that they were going to get me up. he told me to hang on to his back and he was going to swing to the shore while his friend will push us out from behind. when they got me to safety I sat on the sand with my head down coughing a lot due to the fact that I have swallowed a lot of water. when I looked up after maybe 5 seconds the two guys were gone. I couldn't believe how fast they have disappered especially since it was miles and miles of flat shore. I got up and kept looking for them but I never found them. I did not even have a chance to thank them for saving my life...

after that incident I lost my ability to float in the water and to this day I can't do it...do not know why......I can swim but I can't float.....