Sixteen Miracles
The day Louie almost drowned, November 10, 2012, sixteen things happened without which he would not have survived. To me these were miracles.
Sixteen Miracles
Louie’s Near Drowning
November 10, 2012
Louie had just finished cutting John (Berg)’s grass with the big zero-turn tractor for the last time of the season and was heading back along the path to the farm. He had asked John to come with him, to help him with something. So John was walking behind the tractor, and Louie was cutting along the edge of the pond. He got too close and one tire went off the edge. He had only a split second to decide whether to jump off, in which case the tractor would go in the water and possibly be wrecked. If he jumped off he would avoid going in the water himself. Or the other idea was what he settled on, which was the slim chance that if he gunned it really hard, he might be able to drive it back up onto the flat part of the bank, saving the tractor.
So he gunned it, but it was too far over the edge and the tractor flipped over onto Louie, pinning him down in the water. John ran to help him, and was able to get into the water with him, and hold Louie’s nose above water just a little bit. Louie later said it was so frustrating because his mouth was just under the surface, and every time a wave came, the water would go in his nose too. He struggled to get out, but he was trapped with the roll bar pressing on his chest. He said he felt like he would pass out, even before being completely submerged, because he couldn’t get enough air.
This is a man-made pond, with no beach, and no gradual slant. It’s just a drop-off. John was up to his neck as soon as he stepped off the edge. And within a minute or two the weight of the tractor pulled Louie further down and completely underwater, as it slid down. Louie remembers how silty and mucky the mud was on the bottom. There was no way to gain any traction, his leg was caught on part of the tractor, and the roll bar still pressing him down. John was no longer able to pull Louie’s neck up.
At this time John Schact was out on his deck across the pond. He had decided to sneak out and smoke a cigarette for the first time since quitting ten years earlier. John Berg yelled over to him to call 911, which he did. His wife Joan had worked in the Prairie School office for many years, and during those years, Rescue had been called a number of times. In her experience she knew that they always had trouble finding the school, and she knew they now might come to the wrong side of the pond, losing precious minutes. So she ran out into the road and waved her arms when they came, telling the multiple rescuers how to find Louie. They had to drive around the house and go cross-country to get to the area. They later told us that this pond hadn’t been on the map.
The first person to arrive was Police Officer Rob Sides, who was at home just 3 blocks away, having lunch. When he heard on the scanner about this incident and where it was, he mistakenly believed it was his friend, retired police officer Keith Stannis, who is our neighbor. So Rob rushed to help, and was first on the scene. John told Rob that Louie was underwater, and when he stepped into the water, he too was immediately in water up to his neck. Rob felt around in the murky water, not able to see or feel Louie. But he swam down and soon got ahold of the hood of Louie’s sweatshirt, and hung on. He later told us that he worried that they were just doing a body recovery at this point. There was no ice on the pond yet, but it was very cold water, being November.
Firefighters and EMTs from both Caledonia Fire Stations responded, and got there within 5 minutes of the 911 call. It took 8 men to rock the tractor off Louie. It’s a 3/4 ton tractor. And the mud on the bottom was so mushy that none of his ribs were broken, which might have pierced his lungs or broken his back. The guys later told us that it was truly a miracle that both crews were even in-house when the call came, because they usually have six or seven calls per day EACH. They needed all the men from both firehouses, as well as the several neighbors who also came to help.
After they hauled Louie out onto the grass, at first they thought he was dead. He had no pulse, his skin was “as dark as brand-new blue jeans,” and his nostrils were full of mud. But after a few moments he coughed and woke up. He coughed up water, but only about 30cc’s (about an ounce). We were told later that most drowning victims take in much more water than that. The roll bar pressing on his chest prevented him from taking in more. They rushed him to the hospital, where they warmed him up with heated saline and heated air-blankets. His temp was 94.6 when he arrived, and they told us that if it had been below 94, that he wouldn’t have survived. My mom, a PA, also told us that because he is so skinny, he became hypothermic much faster than if he had been heavy. The rapid onset of the hypothermia saved his brain.
The Miracles
These 16 coincidences (miracles maybe?) were each necessary for the outcome we ended up with. If any one of these were not present, Louie would have been gone that day.
1. John was there and saw the accident, or nobody would have even known.
2. John was able to grab him before he went under, or they would not have been able to find him.
3. The roll bar was pressing on his chest, preventing him from inhaling much water (only 30 cc’s).
4. It was November, so the water was cold, causing hypothermia.
5. John Schact chose that day to sneak a cigarette, or nobody would have been able to call 911.
6. Joan knew she needed to show the rescuers how to get to Louie.
7. Rob lives close by, or he wouldn’t have gotten there quick enough.
8. Rob heard it on the scanner.
9. Rob thought it was Keith, our neighbor, and his friend, which made him rush, skipping lunch.
10. Rob found Louie under the water.
11. Both fire stations responded, or they couldn’t have gotten the tractor off.
12. Several neighbors were home, saw, and joined in to help, or there wouldn’t have been enough guys to rock the tractor off.
13. It was early enough in the winter that the mud at the bottom hadn’t yet hardened, or it might have crushed Louie under the 3/4 ton tractor.
14. He woke up!!!!
15. Because Louie is skinny, he got hypothermic faster than some, or he probably would have had brain damage. (It ended up that he was actually under water 12 minutes, based on the times from the 911 call to the time the fire department pulled him out.)
16. His temp was above the 94-degree turning point, or he would have died.
I sobbed while writing this, and my heart still pounds when I read it.
These are from the Police Department before Louie coughed and woke up, while they were "photographing the scene."
The police and fire department guys who helped save him were recognized in a ceremony afterward, and then a party at Husher Bar.
