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Subscribe to RSSFrom photojournalist Damian Mulinix. Reposted here with permission:
This is by far the most amazing story I have ever been a part of. I'm still awestruck as I write this, but I am so very happy to be able to tell it.
Damian Mulinix / Chinook Observer
Last Friday afternoon a large church youth group from Spanaway was visiting the beach off the Cranberry Beach approach in Long Beach, WA.
Shannon Kissel and his daughter Nicole were boogie-boarding nearby when they saw two boys were in need of help. While they were able to retrieve one boy, they were not able to rescue Dale Ostrander, who was caught in a rip tide. It was about 10 minutes until the surf rescue team was on scene.
Twenty-plus kids from the youth group sobbed uncontrollably and prayed on the sand during the search, a truly heart-wrenching sound. It was then at least another 15 minutes or so before rescue swimmer Eduardo Mendez spotted Ostrander, and he and swimmer Will Green were able to grab him and pull him aboard a jet ski.
Damian Mulinix / Chinook Observer
Seconds later at the shore, Doug Knutzen carried him up to where paramedics were waiting to treat him. They were on the beach for another 10 minutes trying to revive him. I think it's safe to say that everyone was certain Ostrander was dead. But the crew continued to work on him, and apparently once they got to the hospital they were able to get a weak pulse and get him breathing again.
Ostrander was air-lifted to Portland for treatment. After he was put in an induced coma for a couple days, he woke up.
And today (Aug. 9) they removed his breathing tube. Not only did Ostrander breath on his own, but he spoke complete sentences. Amazing. This boy was dead for upward of 20 minutes, easily.
From the blog prayersfordale.blogspot.com: At 4:11 pm today "The doctors just removed Dale's breathing tube and he is now breathing on his own. Also, because of possible damage to the brain, they were unsure if he would be able to speak. Minutes after the tube was removed, the doctors told him to cough. Not only did Dale talk back to the doctors, he responded in a full sentence saying, “I don't have to.”
Dale continues to get better by the minute, and the doctors are more and more amazed!"
Damian Mulinix / Chinook Observer
Going to these kinds of breaking news situations is often tough, as you never know how they're going to turn out. I was heartbroken for almost a day after this. And to be able to share this kind of news now is just so heart-warming. Please visit the site listed above and follow as Dale recovers miraculously. Because if ever there was a miracle, this would be it.
-DKM
The dramatic rescue of a 12-year-old boy, trapped underwater in the Pacific Ocean for 20 minutes after being pulled to sea by a powerful rip current, was captured by a local photographer. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports.
Leave a Comment:
If we were all born in India, who would be our saviour? I doubt it would be God and Jesus.
I'm an agnostic. I don't know how things got started. No one else does either. You don't know for certain there is a God, you don't know for certain there isn't a god. You may Believe it, but you don't know.
If there is a god, he/she made me this way. I'm going to treat others the way I would like to be treated, do my best, and when it's over I'll have done what I believed was right.
have a great day.
Thanks to the rescuers and most of all, thank you Jesus for another life saved.
So which was it - the rescuers or jesus?
As one who has also drowned (whitewater kayaking accident), had the flashbacks, the fade to white and then came back from the dead, this kid has had an incredible experience.
The cold water helped save him and lowered his metabolistic needs....just as it did mine.
I feel sorry for the prayer-haters making their comments on here. God ALWAYS answers prayer!! He answers either "Yes", "No", or "Not yet". We may never understand the "no" this side of heaven. God sees the WHOLE picture, not just the 'here and now'. Yes, innocent people die all the time. Bad things happen to 'good' people. It's NOT God choosing who to save, but rather the result of a sin-filled world. Again, there are things in this world we will NEVER understand until we see God face-to-face. An average adult makes roughtly 2,500 choices a day. When it comes to eternity, you have but 2 choices - spending it WITH GOd or spending it apart from God. It's your choice. God gives you the freedom of choice. I pray you make the right choice...for your soul's sake.
You say it's our choice and then immediately imply we'll suffer for not making the one you want us to. This sort of coercisive stuff is what bothers some people, so if you don't want to see it, stop inspiring it.
Jeff, so what you're saying is prayer is useless. Can prayer change god's perfect and already made up mind? If so, then are some mortals more wise than god? If not, then why bother? What about when there are two people praying for mutually exclusive things?
And the choice of "worship me or burn in a pit of eternal hellfire" isn't exactly giving someone the freedom of choice.
Ryan and Randy, you miss and/or misunderstand simple concepts like freedom of choice. Just because you dont like the consequence of burning in hell doesnt mean you didnt have the freedom to choose. If the KNOWN consequence of touching a hot stove is to get burned, would you claim that you dont really have a choice to avoid touching it? Your logic is severly flawed. How is recognizing a hot stove and choosing not to touch it coercion? If being "coerced" into not burning in hell by choosing to believve in God is really coercion, then I have a simple solution for you....CHOOSE not to be coerced......AND BURN IN HELL!!!!!!!!!
Imagine I hold a gun to your head and say "You can give me your money or I can shoot you in the head," am I giving you real free choice? I'm the one claiming to give you the choice. A stove is not.
It breaks my heart that there are people who do not believe in Jesus Christ. My 12 year old sister died last year and the only way my family and I got through it was because of our faith in Jesus. We are all going to die, some sooner than others. My sister is in a better place and I cant wait to see her again one day.
"And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."
Luke 11:9
Losing your sister must have been hard. I'm sorry for that.
Do you think she would have lived if the same kids on the beach had been "praying" for her?
It shouldn't break your heart that people have their own beliefs. You should be happy for them that they live in a place where having your own beliefs is ok. It's not up to believers to worry about and convert non-believers.
Britney, I'm truly sorry for your loss. But your post is very enlightening regarding why people believe in god - because they need to feel like some good is waiting around the corner after something awful happens.
There was no explanation in this article that of why they believe the boy was dead for 20 minutes. Just because they lost site of him does not mean that he was under water. For all that anyone knows he might have been "drowning" at the very moment he was rescued (or a minute before). Any either case, I am sure the prayers did not hurt.
I have a graduate degree in science, and I had always struggled to reconcile the existence of God and scientific explanations for "everything", until I started to read the near death experiences of thousands of people worldwide. I will be very interested in hearing what this young boy experienced, and I hope everyone listens with an open heart and mind. If you listen and study, the "real" God is quite different from what many organized religions have preached about. I do believe that both prayers and medicine played a role, and God's plan was for him to return and finish his mission here on earth. Peace........
So myopic as to think there's no order in the universe or that such order can originate from nothing.
So illogical to think that because not everyone receives dramatic miracles that they must not exist at all.
So silly to think that God must come down in a white robe with a golden staff to be the one in charge.
So prideful to think that you are or I am the biggest thing in life.
So blind as to not recognize a miracle when it smacks you in the face.
So arrogant as to think the finite human mind can truly understand God's plan and infinite wisdom.
We're all guilty of these things from time to time but it's funny to see how atheists call everyone else narrow minded...and are the most defensive of anyone in their rhetoric. Anyone know the definition of hubris?
So preachy to tell people who don't agree with you that they have a bunch of character flaws.
Not everyone who disagrees with you are atheists. Some of us just don't believe we need to jam our religion down everyone’s throat or think just because others think differently that they are somehow inferior or ignorant.
Couldn't it be that the energy and life force of those children praying on the beach helped???? Maybe you don't believe in God, but you've got to admit the power of the human mind. So what about the exponential power of that many people concentrating their thoughts and the good intentions of their emotions on one other human being all at the same time.
Not saying I have any answers. I know what I believe and I'll keep it to myself, but just saying 20 minutes in water that wasn't freezing is pretty miraculous...........
No, I don't have to admit that. It has never been shown that somebody's thoughts can have any effect outside of their own head. If you can prove that, then go win yourself a million dollars from James Randi.
God intervened because of the prayers. God was with the rescuers and the boy. Thank God for the brave rescuers and thank God he heard the cries of prayers and the boy is recovering. If he truly was dead for 20 mins as they say, then it is a miracle and God gets all the glory!
So if people wouldn't have been praying, he would have let the little boy drown? Wow. What about the millions of times people have prayed for someone and the person died anyway?
i'd like to invite you all over to LUNABIN again. We're a new wiki/forum site and would love your posts and comments. it's free. Help us get off the ground! Come start some great discussion.
I believe in the power of prayer. If you were laying on your death bed, would you not want someone praying over you and your family? There's just something comforting about it, and therein lies the part of the power. I think we all have a sort of power within us as living beings. We're probably connected to life and all there is in ways we can't imagine. Where that ability comes from is up for debate, but I truly believe that we can send positive "energy" to ourselves and to others that can help to facilitate healing both mental and physical. We must always take direct action and assume responsibility, like the paramedics did, but there's an underlying layer to what we can do that's unseen. that's my 2 cents. Thanks for reading it!
No, I would not want someone praying over me. I'd rather they go do something useful. Also, whenever someone says "truly believe" there's bound to be a load of nonsense right after it.
Ah Ryan, I was looking forward to someone shooting down the 3rd comment I've ever posted on internet. Now I really feel like I'm at the party! Yes, I'd want someone to go do something for me too. Pay my hospital bills! Watch over of my kids! Call every specialist on the earth to help! But at the end of the day, there's no place else to go but inside your head or your heart...whatever.. to seek another answer. I feel better when I hear about folks that try to go within to find a source to help another human being. Whether it works or not, it's a beautiful thing.
I am so tired of people saying God saved him. God would have taken him to heaven. That would be saving him. It says in the Bible that we should be rejoicing at funerals, not crying.
despite the evidence right in front of them, some will do anything to deny the existence of God and the power of prayer. One day He will deny you too.
God gave man everything. He gives us knowledge, strength and intelligence to do the most powerful things on earth. To all those that doubt God, be ashamed of yourself. There is a young child that is still alive and all that most can say are negative comments towards God. That child is not concerned with either God or the rescuers saved his life but more so that he is alive.
Its funny to see those in the world that are ignorant to the power of God. Negative and foolish that you all are.
They should retitle this story "RANDY AND THE CHRISTIANS".
Credit the cold water mammalian response from our genetic background i.e. crawling out of the sea millions of years ago in combination with the kid's genetic makeup (strong versus weak), not some "god-like" intervention. It never ceases to amaze how the religious fanatics seize on every opportunity to justify a primitive culture mindset.
Well put.
The picture of the boy being pulled out of the water is haunting.
I know, right. He has really good hair.
I choose to believe in God and the power of prayer. I also believe that everyone, on this Earth, is born to die. What I don't believe in is preaching MY beliefs upon people that have made the choice to believe in something other than my beliefs. Why has this become a rant room for people to sound off on what is right and wrong? The fact that this young man is alive is truly AMAZING! We should all be giving kuddos to the people involved in his rescue and recovery and wishing him and his family a wonderful and fulfilling life - not turning this into a religious discussion. After all, the title of this article is 'Dramatic rescue: Boy revived after being sucked out to sea', not 'What do you think is right or wrong about God/Religion?'
Momma,
Stop ranting.
Critical - stop being so critical....... was NOT ranting at all. Was simply stating that we need to give credit where credit is due and that is to the men, women and children that helped to save this child.
To paraphrase Rod and Tod Flanders, "thank you for sending the rescuers to save him from the riptide you sent."
If thoughts and prayers to God comfort you in times of adversity, then by all means be comforted. The rescuers and paramedics as well as the hospital staff are heroes and we shouldn't take away the comfort they feel in saving this boy's life..
I would consider myself an agnostic. I would like to believe that there is a God and life after death but I can't quite get over some contradictions in my mind. For the sake of argument let's say that yes God is real and he really, really loves us. He chooses not to show himself to us but would rather us just have faith. He left behind and instruction manual (The Bible) on how we should conduct ourselves to win his approval and admittance into heaven but has had absolutely no tangable contact with any of us. If I as a father had conducted myself in the same manner I would be blasted (and rightfully so) as a deadbeat dad. Millions suffer around the world but that is explained away as "God works in mysterious ways" Someone explain this to me.
we like to talk conspiracies, survivalism, news, ufos , life etc
WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT THE HELL UP about the argument of who did this and how it happened.. put ur self in the shoes of the family and then start fkgin arguing....if that was ur child u would have done the same even in pronouncing the phrase "Oh God!"....and then also you would have called the medic at the same time. We all should be glad that 1 that wasn't our child and 2) that all turned out the best way it could possibly have happened...who know what could have happened he could have lived but become paralyzed or have his body frozen/dead..list goes on... THE POINT IS THAT THE KID IS DOING WELL not who saved him... ...so can u guys just stop arguing over this..thank you (being close to the family im greatly discouraged over the debate this has caused)
WOW! What an amazing story! Praise God for the miracle in this boy, and his family's lives!!
On another note, I had no idea there were so many non-believers out there! It saddened me to see the comments of people blasting God and his miracles! I am so thankful for my salvation, and I prayed for each and every one of you to receive it too, because in the end God still loves you!