LITTLE CURRENT – It was a beautiful warm sunny day in late June. Three young men were enjoying the day, Greyson Brewer-Case (11) and his buddy Braeden Hall were swimming off the Low Island docks, while Ryan Goddard, 15 going on 16, was trying his luck with a fishing rod when suddenly the day took a very serious turn.
“Me and my buddy were swimming and there was this lady who wanted us to find her rocks,” recalled Greyson. “She lost her sunglasses in the water and we tried to find them, but we couldn’t. She went to get them but floated away.”
A few moments later the woman began drifting further out and it became clear to her companion on shore that she was in distress.
Ryan had noticed his cousin and friend swimming, but he had his eye on catching a big one.
“I went to the other side of the dock,” he said. “One second the woman was on the dock, the next she was in the water drowning.” The woman’s companion was crying out for someone to help her.
“I tore my shirt off and dove in the water and swam out to her,” he said. “When the other lady called for me to help, I thought I would have help.” But for some reason when he got to the woman in the water, Ryan found himself alone as he struggled to pull the woman to safety.
“I’m a good swimmer,” said Ryan, “but not that good. I guess I must have swallowed some water because my diaphragm started to spasm.” Fearful that he might end up drowning himself, Ryan was faced with a terrible choice.
“I was going to have to let her go or there would be two of us drowning,” he said. “Just as I was about to let go, I saw that my cousin and his friend had swam out with me.” Adding to the challenge was the fact that the woman was beginning to regain consciousness and was disoriented.
Together the three young men managed to bring the woman to shore, where Ryan’s mother Dina, who happened to be in the Low Island parking lot, used her cellphone to call for an ambulance. Moments later the paramedics and police arrived on the scene and the woman, who had regained consciousness by that point, was transported to hospital.
Ryan admitted that his adrenaline was pumping full bore throughout the incident, but he is happy everything turned out alright. His mother said that she was very proud of her son.
Alison Brewer, Greyson’s mom was also very proud of her son. “He did the right thing,” she said. “All of the boys did. When they realized someone was in trouble they just went ahead and did what they needed to do. I am so proud of all of them.”
