2/16/15

I am going to tell you guys about an event yesterday that scared the crap out of me. I am so lucky to be here to tell you about it and you will understand why in a minute.

So yesterday I went to the beach at carmel with my family and a few friends. We were having a grand ol' time and decided to go into the water. My friend Bri, my sister, my cousins, and I all went into the water to go body surfing. Sounds like fun right? Not so much. I went a little too deep. The water we pulling me out further. At first I didn't worry. I didn't notice how far out I was until my cousin Elise started calling me to come back. I tried to get to her but I couldn't move. I started swimming towards her but I wasn't going anywhere. I began to get a little scared.

"Ashley! Come on! You've gone too far!" Elise shouted at me.

"I'm trying! I'm not moving! " I shouted back still trying to swim to them. The waves were getting overwhelming. I went under swallowing a mouthful of ocean water. When I surfaced I coughed up as much water as I could and tried to keep my head above the waves, "Elise! Bri! Help me it's not working!" I screamed at them as I struggled to move forward.

"ASHLEY! MOVE SIDEWAYS!" Elise shouted and I did as she said. I was able to get to shallower water were I could touch the ground and I looked around to find everyone. I saw that Elise was trying to get to me then she too, began to get pulled out. "ASHLEY!"

This was when I truly started to panic. "ELISE! SWIM TOWARDS ME!" I screamed for my cousin as I tried to swim to her. I struggled to get to her and keep my head above the water. Finally we were able to reach each other. I grasped Elise hand and we desperately tried to get back to our family.  Our cousins and my sister and Bri were shouting to our parents about our situation but they didn't believe them.

I pushed Elise in front of me and swam as hard as I could. "Come on! Swim! We can do it. We can get back!" I yelled at her as we were hammered by the waves. I continued to push her ahead of me and she started struggling "Ashley let me go! Swim by yourself! You'll get caught again if you don't! " I ignored her protests there was no way I was abandoning her. If I did she could have been swept away. Finally we got back to shallower water and let go of each other. Oh how I wish we hadn't. As we attempted to walk back to shore I fell and was swept back into the rip current we had been caught in.

I screamed. I screamed and screamed, swallowing tons of water as I was forced under the waves. "Elise! Bri! Get Freddy!  Get Tio! Help! Help me!" No one could hear me over the waves. I tried everything to get back to them. I tried floating to conserve my energy. Swimming sideways to avoid the brunt of the waves and get to a calmer area. Nothing worked. I kept getting further away or going nowhere at all.

I peaked over the waves and saw someone putting on a wet suit. "Help" I called out weakly. My arms felt heavy. My throat was sore. My eyes burning as I tried to push though my exhaustion. Suddenly I felt something grab hold of my arm. I screamed, but calmed down slightly when I realized it was a man here to help me. I was a blubbering mess "I want to go home. Help me." I don't remember saying much else as he asked me if I was okay and helped me back to shore. "This way come on. You can do it. Just I little further." The man didn't let go of me until the water barely reached our ankles. He had saved me. My limbs felt like cinder blocks and I was ready to colapse, so that's exactly what I did. The rest of the day is a blur. I know that of it wasn't for that man, I would probably have been dead.