American golfer Brian Harman asked for prayers for a woman left in a coma after trying to save his 6-year-old son from drowning at a beach in Florida last month.
During a news conference at the RSM Classic at Saint Simons Island, Georgia, on Tuesday, Harman said he and his family were vacationing at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where the near-fatal incident occurred.
Harman’s son was out in the water bodyboarding on Oct. 13 when he got dragged out to sea by a rip current.
“We get ‘em here, it’s not something that’s abnormal, but this was an abnormally bad one,” Harman said.
A close friend of the family named Cathy Dowdy attempted to save the boy but nearly drowned in the process.
“She went in the water after my son,” Harman told reporters. “He’s six. Couldn’t get to him … Cathy [got] injured really badly.”
Dowdy was initially taken to a nearby Mayo Clinic but has since been moved closer to home to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia, early this month.
“She’s been in a coma for going on six weeks now and so, obviously, our world down here was kind of turned on its head,” he continued.
A man named Crane Cantrell, who was on the beach, saw the boy in distress, rushed into the water, and managed to pull Harman’s son out safely.
“I wanted to use whatever platform I have to bring awareness to what Cathy did, what Crane did,” Harman said.
“They disregarded their selves, went into the water, saved my son, and how do you thank people like that? I don’t know other than to just say what you think. I think that bravery and doing something like that for people who aren’t your blood is just the most beautiful thing you can do in this life.”
Community Support
Harman said in his press conference that the outpouring of support from the community was “one of the most touching things I’ve ever experienced.”
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to support Dowdy’s family. So far, the fundraiser has brought in nearly $90,000.
In an update on the GoFundMe page, Dowdy’s husband Mike reported that her “vital organs are okay except they say there is some damage to the brain.”
He said doctors inserted a feeding tube in her stomach but later performed a tracheostomy.
“It seems to help her relax more,” Mike Dowdy wrote in the next update. “She is a fighter and was constantly fighting the tubes in her mouth.”
He also shared a glimmer of hope. “She has been opening her eyes some. I believe I’ve even seen a few tears roll down her cheek,” he wrote on Oct. 25.
The latest update, dated Nov. 19, said Dowdy was still on a ventilator, but had opened her eyes on a few occasions now. However, she was “still unconscious and still having some neuro storms. This causes a roller coaster ride with blood pressure and breathing rate. Lately there hasn’t been as many,” her husband wrote.
“We need her on an even keel to try and wean her from the vent. Please pray for calmer days ahead.”
The Dangers of Rip Currents
Rip currents are strong, localized, and narrow streams of water that move directly away from the shore. They typically occur near offshore sand bars or reefs. Though a rip current cannot pull people underwater, it may exhaust people who try to swim against them.
The U.S. Lifesaving Association’s first advice is not to swim against the current.
“You may be able to escape by swimming out of the current in a direction following the shoreline,” the beach lifeguard association’s brochure reads.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), rip currents claim more than 100 victims a year.
If you’re going to spend time in the water, prep yourself wisely and consult the NOAA’s “Rip Current Survival Guide.”