Heroic Teen Lifeguard Breaks Down In Tears Following Rescue Of Toddler

Aug 19, 2021 by apost team

At just 18 years old, Michael Wood of Henrico County, Virginia is a hero. The teenage lifeguard saved not one but two swimmers in distress while working at the Raintree Swim & Racquet Club and the Westwood Club. The first rescue occurred in 2018 when Wood was just 15 years old. On a sunny Saturday at the Raintree pool, Wood saw a young boy walk off a diving board, falling into the 11-foot deep-end.

The little boy struggled for a bit until he started calling for help. And that’s when Wood sprung into action.

“I just thought in my mind did he just say help? And then he yells it a second a time and so I jumped off of the stand and onto the concrete and then I jumped in there and got him and brought him to the wall,” Wood told 8News back in July 2018.

Wood, who likely saved the boy’s life, received a round of applause from spectators and repeated thank yous from the young man’s parents.

“All I wanted to do was get him to the wall and make sure he’s safe and stuff. That’s the only thought that went through my mind mostly,” Wood said of the rescue.

What is unbelievable is that Wood once again saved a swimmer’s life the following year in August 2019. This time, Wood, 16 at the time, was working at the Westwood Club, watching as a 2-year-old boy appeared to play a game to see how long he could hold his breath underwater. But Wood soon realized that the boy was in trouble.

“I jumped in, grabbed the kid out, and, sure enough, he was completely passed out and he was not breathing,” Wood told 8News in 2019, a year after his first rescue.

In order to save the 2-year-old, who had turned blue, Wood got him out of the water and began to perform rescue breaths.

“This whole thing could have gone south but quick actions from everyone made this kid be able to take another breath and walk on this earth again,” Wood added.

"I mean it was definitely scary, but once he started crying, I just sat back and cried too because I knew he was fine," Wood said of the rescue in the below video.

According to the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA), a non-profit group for “beach lifeguards and open water rescuers,” ocean lifeguards performed more than 71,000 rescues in 2019 within the U.S. The USLA further reports that the chances of drowning while at a USLA-protected beach are 1 in 18 million, according to data the organization has compiled over the past 10 years.

Despite lifeguarding’s effectiveness, Today reports that drowning remains a leading cause of accidental death for children under 4.

Part of what makes drown victims difficult to rescue is that they often don’t seem like they’re struggling. Even Wood, a trained lifeguard, wasn’t sure whether the little boy was drowning or playing a game. For that reason, it’s important to look for signs to discern whether someone is drowning. For example, Today reports that warning signs include: “Mouth at water level and may alternate between being just above the surface and just below it … Head tilted back as the person tries to float … (and) Eyes glassy or closed.”

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What do you think of this heroic young man’s story? Have you ever been saved by a lifeguard? Let us know — and be sure to pass this story on.