# A sudden crisis -- how did you react?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sudden-crisis-how-did-you-react/995668
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 5, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sudden-crisis-how-did-you-react/995668 "2024-01-05T19:13:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
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### Author: ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sudden-crisis-how-did-you-react/995668/4 "2024-01-05T20:23:48Z")

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[Tale of woe here.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lake-michigan-takes-another-life/542642/7)

Briefly I took off into Lake Michigan with only a canoe and paddle (no life jacket) to try to save a young child who’d been blown far into the lake in a kayak by strong winds.

How did I react? I just went after her, as soon as I was able. I recognized that I was rolling the dice and that I might not make it back, but all that was secondary in the moment. I think it boils down to the fact that I’m a dad, and a kid was in trouble, and there was absolutely no one else there in a position to help that kid quickly other than me. Not going out was not an option. But I was scared. Because I know Lake Michigan well, and it was NOT a good day to do something like that.

I focused on reaching the kayak, which I’d been able to keep my eye on. But when I reached the kayak, no one was in it. Nor could I see anyone in the water nearby. And that’s when I panicked, started screaming for help even though no one was near enough to hear.

Fortunately that lasted only about 15 seconds (tho it felt like a lifetime). I made myself calm down and tried to plan how to survive until rescue came (911 had been called). Then I capsized into the 50 degree rough water, the canoe semi-submerging itself, and I swam to the kayak and hung on for 10-15 minutes until the Sheriff’s rescue boats came and got me and took me to shore, where I had to tell the child’s family that the kayak was empty and the rescue crew was searching for her in the water (her body was never found).

I remember it often, especially since I still live right on the lake. I regret not looking more thoroughly for the kid in the water on my way to the kayak, maybe I’d have seen her. But I don’t regret the attempt.

My other major crisis was being in a small plane crash, but that just went quickly from “I’m going to die” as we neared the future crash site to “where am I and why does everything hurt so much? Oh, there’s an ambulance. That’s nice!”

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