Retired Colorado cop feared the worst as he drowned in ocean — until a mystery surfer pulled him to shore just in time
At times, a person might get safely out of a seemingly hopeless situation. A retired Colorado cop found himself in such a bad situation after a surfing accident. The cop, John Grace, had gone out to the beach to relax when the incident happened. A chance encounter just so happened to save his life. However, he didn't know who exactly the hero was and decided to find the person and thank them, per Fox 5 San Diego.
"Whenever I am going through any trials or tribulations, getting my feet in the sand has always been my go-to," John said about his trip to San Diego. The retired detective was at the beach with his friend and both of them thought that they wanted to try surfing. "We started on our boards after we had practiced for a while and had a talk about the power of the ocean," the man went on. Unfortunately, the Colorado man was struck by a really powerful wave that threw him away. He fell face-first on the sand and lost consciousness slowly because of the strong impact of his fall. "It was a really out of body experience when I thought of having to say goodbye to my boys and my family. I thought it was the end."
The man was stuck underwater and was about to go unconscious at that time. John couldn't move at all. "I knew I had no control over my body. The next thing I knew, I woke up and was being pulled up the beach by somebody. I don't know who it was." The man couldn't see his rescuer's face clearly and it was really blurry because of his condition. "I just told him thanks for saving my life." A 20-year-old man, Tanner Fritz, and a lifeguard from the area started helping John after that. Tanner noticed that the man had suffered from a massive facial trauma. "I kinda just noted that this was probably a spinal injury. We took all the precautions for that as well."
John had to spend four days at the hospital to recover from injuries to his neck and his face. "I have two fractured vertebrae in my neck and a lot of nerve damage." The man had a special message for his mystery rescuer, whom he hoped to find soon. "I want to thank you for allowing me to be on this earth with my family and my friends. I love you for that already. I want to meet you and thank you personally." People applauded everyone who saved the man's life and shared their own similar experiences in the comments section of the video.
@pinklover1160 wrote, "When I was around 10 years old, I almost drowned in an open ocean. A man out of nowhere came to rescue me. This was over four decades ago. Thank you, sir, for saving my life." @stephencampbell2018 commented, "A few years ago, my brother spent five and a half years in prison. When he got out, he went home to California. All he wanted to do was surf. He was out chasing waves when he heard someone drowning. He swam to the guy and saved him. He later found out the guy was a prison guard. Crazy world...yes?"