"DADDY DADDY. SHE'S DROWNING. JAZMINES OUT THERE DROWNING. A BIG WAVE JUST CAME AND DRUG HER OUT TO THE DEEP!" Denos daughter came hollering at him out of pure horror as he was sitting in the sand with her mother underneath their huge umbrella seats.
He quickly got up as she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the beach water as his wife was hollering, "OH MY GOD, PLEASE GET HER OUTTA THERE PLEASE. WHERE IS SHE?" Her following behind them.
"Summer. Where she at? I can't see her." Deno asked his daughter, looking around, trying to point her out of the hundreds of people that were there at the beach.
"DAD, SHE'S RIGHT THERE. THAT'S HER HEAD GOING UP AND DOWN IN THE WATER! DAD, PLEASE GO GET HER PLEASE! SHE'S ABOUT TO DROWN." As her voice was trembling. Her breaking out in tears, shaking like a leaf.
Deno saw Jazmine's head and arms waving, and he ran into the water, jumping into the waves, swimming and stroking, knowing he had to do anything he could to save this little girls life. That was his daughters best friend. He felt he either had to do it, or die along with her trying.
As he was getting closer to her, he started to see less and less of her. She was starting to give up. Fading away.
The waves were still coming, pumbling and pushing him down underneath the water also.
He managed to get his head back above the water, looking around, still trying to see where she was at. He couldn't see her anymore, still able to hear his daughter screaming at the top of her lungs. He didn't know what she was saying, but he was still able to hear her screaming.
Another big wave came and sunk him down underneath the water again. At this point, he wasn't really too sure that he was gonna make it. He was starting to get extremely tired, unable to really hold his breath for more than three seconds under water now. He was definitely scared as the waves were pumbling him more it seemed like, swallowing him, and him starting to inhale more and more water within every breath.
All of a sudden, he felt a little nudge on his right leg.
With everything that he had in him, he managed to swim back to the top of the water so he could get a little gasp of air.
He then went back underneath, reaching anywhere that he could to see what was that that touched his leg before he came back up for air.
He reached and reached and reached, and finally, he was able to grab something. He didn't know what he had grabbed, but he took it to the top with him with every ounce of power that he had in him.
He started to desperately paddle with his one free arm, with the waves still pounding and putting him back underneath the dirty salty water.
All of a sudden, he felt a tug. A tug that was tugging him in the opposite direction.
It was a lifeguard who was alerted by Denos daughter, Summer, telling him that her dad and her best friend were out there in trouble.
Deno was still holding on to whatever he had gripped on to while he was underneath the water, while the lifeguard was swimming and pulling them back to shore.
They were able to make it to land, and when they did, Deno and everyone else were able to see what he had a grip of.
It was Jazmine, and he had a grip on the top of her bathing suit.
She wasn't responsive. Deno barely was either, but you could tell that he was in better shape than Jazmine, obviously. He was at least able to talk and to let everyone know that he was ok while laid out in the sand.
Everyone was really more concerned about Jazmine.
The lifeguard was doing CPR on her.
Summer was hollering and crying, looking at her best friend lying there, motionless, while the lifeguard continued to perform CPR on her.
Denos wife was going back and forth checking on Jazmine and Deno. She knew that Deno was going to be alright, but Jazmine was not looking too well. She was thinking about what she was going to have to tell Jazmines mother. Something most parents wouldn't wish on their worst enemy, that their child is dead.
The lifeguard kept doing CPR on her. It's been three minutes so far. Summers mother had to hold her.
The lifeguard told everybody to back up and to give him space.
"Jazmine please, GET UP! JAZMINE!" Summer screamed at her as the lifeguard was starting to look a little frustrated, like there was nothing else that he could do while Summers mother was holding her back.
Summers mom was also on the phone with Jazmines mother, telling her what just happened. You could only imagine what Jazmines mother was saying on the other line.
Both of these little girls were only twelve years old. They've been best friends since they were eight.
After about another minute, Jazmine let out a huge cough with water gushing out of her mouth while the lifeguard was still proceeding with the CPR action, still applying pressure to the top of her stomach.
He sat her up, patting her back, as she continued to cough out more water.
Summer and her mother both ran up to her out of relief while the lifeguard was still patting her on her back.
You could hear the ambulance and firetruck sirens getting louder, approaching the beach. The fire station wasn't that far away.
Summer and her mother gave Jazmine a hug, so happy that she was breathing again.
The lifeguard left them to go tend to Deno who was just sitting up seemingly trying to get his head together. Their were only a few people around checking on him. He was ok though, but if it weren't for the lifeguard, he most likely wouldn't have made it obviously.
Summers mother was still on the phone with Jazmines mother letting her know everything that was going on. The situation had everyone shook. Jazmines mother was losing her mind on the other end.
The paramedics came running up to Jazmine. The lifeguard had to tell them that Deno also almost drowned along with her, so they came and checked on him also.
This goes without saying, but this will forever be a day at the beach that none of them will ever forget, but the story doesn't stop here. This is just the tip of the iceberg.