Why My Wife Only Swims In Clear Water

My wife was raised in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina but will not swim in the ocean.  Sure, I’ve managed to coax her in but the slightest touch of seaweed, undulation of the bottom or, god forbid, she steps on a crab, and she is outta there.  To much out there with teeth and she can’t see any of it coming and that’s that.

You can imagine the conversation when I showed her this story:

Bill Hedden, 59, was snorkeling in a South Carolina lake on Sunday when the 12-foot-long gator attacked, according to witnesses.

Capt. Bill Salisbury of the Berkeley County Rescue Squad said the victim “was able to run up the bank to a picnic area, where a lot of people were. They saw what was happening and called 911.”

Among the group nearby at Lake Moultrie were five registered nurses, who were able to put ice on his wound and keep him awake until paramedics could arrive.  ”One of the … [nurses kept] on encouraging him to breathe and because he was turning blue,” nurse Jo Masauding told WCSC-TV.

Capt. Bill Salisbury of the Berkeley County Rescue Squad said the victim “was able to run up the bank to a picnic area, where a lot of people were. They saw what was happening and called 911.”

“He was very conscious and asking for his wife, to call his wife, to make sure she knew what happened to him,” Masauding said. Hedden was taken to the Medical University of South Carolina, where he was reported to be in critical condition.

Department of Natural Resources officers killed the alligator, and Salisbury said Hedden’s arm was retrieved from the gator’s belly, put on ice and taken to the hospital. Doctors were evaluating whether it could be reattached.

Wildlife officials said it was one of the worst gator attacks in the state.

- CNN, 2007

And that’s why my wife loves the Bahamas when it comes time to vacation!

When a bunch of folks are gathered along a lake for a weekend, of course someone’s gonna have a camera….

Tags: Alligator attack South Carolina