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‘Stay calm,’ I tell myself, as I feel that sadly familiar panic creeping up from my toes, sliding up my legs and to my stomach, which is already beginning to churn like the waves that are surrounding me.
‘What is it they say?’ I try to focus as my feet desperately ache for the touch of the soft sand of the ocean floor. ‘What is it they say? Swim away from the riptide, horizontally. Don’t panic; it can’t pull you under.’
Stay calm. Don’t panic. Easier said than done when I see the shoreline drifting farther and farther away from me, when yet another wave crashes over my head, stealing away my vision for a moment and leaving me disoriented, when I try to breathe carefully, to slow the rapid beating of my heart, and my lungs become salty.
Another crash, and my head emerges from the water again. The panic has fully set in, and I’m too busy trying to calm myself down to make a move. I look out over the water with burning eyes to see my husband. It feels like he is miles away. I try to calm down and swim towards him, but I’ve never really been an excellent swimmer, and I can tell that I’m effectively treading water as the riptide continues to pull me further from the shore.
“Swim!” I hear him shout to me. “Swim to me!”
A large wave crashes over my head, submerging me again for a moment, and when I come back up, I cry out, “I’m trying!”
My arms are tired. My legs are tired. I’m not able to overcome the current and I don’t know how much longer I can keep trying. I take a breath just as another wave pulls me under, and my lungs burn. All I can do is try to keep calm. But I’m so tired and I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I feel the panic start to subside and a sense of calm overtakes me as I resign to just let myself slip under.
Suddenly, I feel a hand grasp mine, and it jerks me back to reality. My husband shouts at me, “Ride the wave! Ride the wave back to the shore!” I feel warm and safe with my hand in his, and I do my best to surf along the waves. For a split second, my hand escapes his, and the panic immediately surrounds me. I reach out desperately, and my hand finds his again, and my feet finally find the floor of the ocean.
‘What is it they say?’ I try to focus as my feet desperately ache for the touch of the soft sand of the ocean floor. ‘What is it they say? Swim away from the riptide, horizontally. Don’t panic; it can’t pull you under.’
Stay calm. Don’t panic. Easier said than done when I see the shoreline drifting farther and farther away from me, when yet another wave crashes over my head, stealing away my vision for a moment and leaving me disoriented, when I try to breathe carefully, to slow the rapid beating of my heart, and my lungs become salty.
Another crash, and my head emerges from the water again. The panic has fully set in, and I’m too busy trying to calm myself down to make a move. I look out over the water with burning eyes to see my husband. It feels like he is miles away. I try to calm down and swim towards him, but I’ve never really been an excellent swimmer, and I can tell that I’m effectively treading water as the riptide continues to pull me further from the shore.
“Swim!” I hear him shout to me. “Swim to me!”
A large wave crashes over my head, submerging me again for a moment, and when I come back up, I cry out, “I’m trying!”
My arms are tired. My legs are tired. I’m not able to overcome the current and I don’t know how much longer I can keep trying. I take a breath just as another wave pulls me under, and my lungs burn. All I can do is try to keep calm. But I’m so tired and I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I feel the panic start to subside and a sense of calm overtakes me as I resign to just let myself slip under.
Suddenly, I feel a hand grasp mine, and it jerks me back to reality. My husband shouts at me, “Ride the wave! Ride the wave back to the shore!” I feel warm and safe with my hand in his, and I do my best to surf along the waves. For a split second, my hand escapes his, and the panic immediately surrounds me. I reach out desperately, and my hand finds his again, and my feet finally find the floor of the ocean.
