Woman in the Purple Bikini

Janet Patterson at Fort Walton Beach, Florida

The following article was written by Janet Patterson, Board Chair of the Heart of Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross.

I am writing this story as I travel home from a rare family vacation down to Fort Walton Beach with my husband, Stephen, and two sons, Brock and Brett. I asked for a family vacation this year to celebrate some significant milestones; my 50th birthday and a double anniversary - Stephen being breast cancer free and our wedding anniversary. Stephen’s mastectomy surgery had been on our 18^th anniversary 5 years ago.

   
Around 2:00 p.m. on our first full day at the beach, Stephen, the boys and I were enjoying the beach and sound of the waves under an umbrella and beach chairs provided by our hotel. I had rented body boards earlier that day for the boys and had also ridden the waves myself. There was a yellow flag flying which meant medium hazard and moderate surf, so, some decent waves to ride into shore, but nothing too difficult to handle. 

 
Just as we had sat down to relax for a while, Stephen realized he had lost his car keys and started looking frantically, digging in the sand and under our chairs. He made all of us get up and look. He was so bothered that he left us to retrace his steps from his last trip from our car. Brett left, too, but only to go wash the sand and salt off of himself with fresh water. 

Brock and I were finally settled back into our chairs when we saw them – There were people taking pause and looking. What is it...what were they seeing? They were looking at her: The woman in the purple bikini. As soon as I saw her I knew something was very wrong and jumped out of my beach chair. Brock immediately followed. The woman’s body was lifeless. She was floating face down in inches of water. Her body was twisting in the surf as the waves crashed in around her. Where in the world did she come from? Did she just wash up in front of us?! We had been so preoccupied with the keys we didn't notice her until that moment.

 

A few men pulled her out. I was there as soon as they dropped her onto the sand. Her mouth was open and full of water. Was she breathing? No. I looked up for only a second to yell, “Call for help!” Little did I know Brett was already running down the beach to the red umbrella where he believed a lifeguard would be. He had noticed the people gathering and me on the ground with the woman and knew there was an emergency. After assessing her condition, I flipped her body on her left side. 

That’s when my instincts came in and remembered what I learned many years ago when receiving CPR certification. First things first. Clear her airway!

I had her on her side and I forcefully pat her back. The pats were hard! I didn't hesitate or pause until SHE COUGHED, she gagged. I yelled for someone to give me something to clear her nose and wipe her face. Her eyes were glazed over, likely from the salt water in them. Her eyes rolled around and she clinched her chest and moaned. She was struggling. The first words she said were, "Am I in heaven?".

I continued to gently pat and rub her back and told her help was on the way, that she was going to be okay. I continued to monitor her breathing because she was not very responsive, and I feared she could stop breathing again at any moment. I thought more than once that she wasn't. Please, woman in the purple bikini, just breath.

I continued talking to her as we waited for help to arrive. It seemed an eternity for a life guard to finally show up. He came racing in on a four-wheeler, pulling an oxygen mask from his bag. I quickly explained her condition as he worked and then I got up and backed away. That's when I noticed the really large group of people and the many rescue workers still coming in... emergency vehicles and a fire truck. What a crowd.  Everybody was in shock and their faces showed the trauma they were witnessing. 

My instincts were still firing, though. Where were this woman's friends, family, people? They wouldn’t know this happened to her. That became my next mission.  I asked people in both directions to send a chain message, “A woman, purple bikini, tattoo on shoulder, dark hair, 50ish, nearly drown, send it down.” After talking to multiple bystanders Brett found me and said the life guards were looking for more information. So, I returned to speak with them. It was at that time that I saw Stephen for the first time since he left to find his keys (that were safely in his shorts pocket up in our room!) 

As we talked, a couple of bystanders called to me to get my attention. They thanked me. They told me I did great, they had no idea what to do, and they were so glad I was there. Stephen then stuck out his fist for a fist bump and said, "I guess your life guarding experience kicked in!" OH! He was right! That never entered my mind. I was a substitute life guard at the Lexington, TN city pool in high school! 

As I took time to let things really sink in, I realized that I knew what to do in that situation because I had been trained in multiple ways. I had life guard training, I had taken CPR training, and I am an American Red Cross Volunteer. 

Patterson Family, left to right: Stephen, Brett, Janet, Brock

Brett said to me the next morning, “Mommy, you know what you did yesterday? You saved someone's life. And as soon as the first life guard got there you just walked away and disappeared.” He meant from his view, but I responded that I'd done my part, and it was time to let him take over. Plus, I had moved on to my next mission of locating her people. 

After the area had calmed down one of the life guards drove back on his four-wheeler. He told me her name was Linda, she was a local and regular to this beach, and she had been there alone. He said the sheriff would come and collect her things from the beach. I could imagine her wondering who saved her on the beach that day. 

I believe it was meant for me to have this experience and to tell this story as a firsthand reminder that being prepared for disaster of any type, is so important. I encourage you to sign up for lifesaving classes the American Red Cross and other organizations have to offer – whether CPR training, water safety, or first aid – all are essential to being able to respond at a moment’s notice. Had I not been trained in a variety of ways I may not have jumped into action and responded to help save the woman in the purple bikini.

For more information and to find lifesaving classes offered in your area go to redcross.org.