Water Rescue

I’ve never been a swimmer. Childhood swim lessons didn’t take, even with three tries. Sure, I learned to float and to tread water, but I could not—no matter how hard I tried—put my head under without holding my nose. I was told to take a deep breath, then exhale slowly while submerged, but I couldn’t get the slowly part. My breath would be gone in a second and then the water entered my nose unhindered, filling every cavity in my head and overwhelming me, not only with water, but with extreme fear. In other words, I panicked. Big time. My fears grew in my teens when I nearly drowned in the ocean. I’d dogpaddled out to a sandbar one day with no problem, but when I attempted it the next day, the tide was in, the water deeper, and I tired before reaching...