Chapter One
The waves gently caressed the shore of the lake. Prompted by a lazy breeze off the western foothills, the deep blue water of Lake Victoria seemed anything but threatening to the score of people enjoying themselves on an early evening in mid-June. Nor did the staff overseeing activities on and around Lake Victoria sense any need for alarm. Everything seemed promising at the popular Oregon resort for a long summer of camping, hiking, and any number of exciting water sports. But for one family the only promise for the summer would be one of frustration, loss of hope, and a challenge to overcome extreme adversity.
Tom Frost walked out of the cabin at the east end of the lake and surveyed the setting around him. Three weeks before he had taken charge of the Lake Victoria recreational area, which included the lake itself, plus an area around the lake about ten miles square. His help for the summer was five college students working as volunteers to satisfy requirements toward their majors. All of the students, three women and two men, were between twenty and twenty-two years of age, were in excellent physical condition, and knew their assigned work areas very well. Even with all that, Tom Frost felt he should be, indeed needed to be, involved with every aspect of operations at Lake Victoria. As Tom looked westerly across the oversized lake he noticed the sun was another hour from setting. Soon the four or five boats out on the water would be returning to shore, as per rule No. 4, which stated: No water bearing crafts allowed away from the shore after sundown.
Within the next thirty to forty-five minutes three boats came into shore. One, however, remained in the open water approximately one thousand yards from shore. Eric Shale, one of Tom Frost's volunteers, brought the boat, what appeared to be a medium sized row boat, to Tom’s attention. There appeared to be a flurry of activity on and around the boat, but it was too far away to clearly distinguish. Tom Frost asked Eric to go into the cabin and bring out the binoculars. As the activity appeared to increase, Tom started to feel a sense of urgency. He had felt these feelings before and he didn't take them lightly.
"Get out here quickly with those binoculars, Eric," Tom yelled, as the beach started to become crowded around him with onlookers.
"Here they are," Eric exclaimed, as he ran back to Tom’s location on the beach.
Tom Frost nearly ripped the binoculars out of Eric Shale's hands. He wanted to get a good look at what was happening around the boat before it got darker. His sense of urgency seemed to escalate even further. There was definitely something wrong out on the water. As Tom raised the binoculars to his eyes and adjusted them the view became much clearer. What he saw was worse than he originally feared. A hand was barely out of the water and another hand was desperately reaching down trying to grasp the first hand. Then Tom Frost saw a head pop out of the water, a young female's head, and then return underneath the water. He quickly returned his focus to the person on the boat and determined that he, a young boy, wasn't sure of what to do.
"They need help out there as soon as possible," Tom said. “It looks like a possible drowning,” he further emphasized.
Gayle Packer and Ryan Wilson, two of Tom's other volunteers, quickly ran to a small power boat sitting fifty yards down the beach. Gayle released the ropes that held the boat against the makeshift dock, while Ryan started the rear motor. Within one minute they were racing toward the stranded boat. In addition to serving as a volunteer, Gayle was also a licensed EMT, and was well aware of the restricted time frame they were working with if the circumstance awaiting them was indeed a possible drowning. Every second would be critical when they reached the scene depending upon how much water had been taken into the lungs. Gayle hoped they would not be too late. Soon they were within fifty feet of what was clearly a young girl, probably sixteen or seventeen, in definite trouble. The girl was only four or five feet away from the boat, but for some reason couldn't get to it. The boy in the boat, possibly two or three years younger, couldn't reach the girl in the water and there was a steady stream of tears cascading down his cheeks.
Even before the power boat had come to a complete stop, Ryan jumped into the water and swam over to the struggling swimmer. He had to go about five feet under the surface to find her. When he did he got a hold under her armpits and swiftly raised her to the surface. By this time Gayle was also in the water lending assistance.
"Let's get her in the boat as quickly as possible. She is probably in some stage of shock depending on how long she's been without oxygen," Gayle instructed, offering an explanation for her direction.
"Judging by her weight, I would definitely say she is unconscious," Ryan called back, as he worked his way toward the boat. "I'm going to need your help to get her abroad."
When the unconscious girl was safely on board the small motor-powered boat, Gayle quickly began the process of checking vital signs and determining what course of action should be taken. It was observed immediately that the girl wasn't breathing and possibly hadn't been for several minutes. Gayle would find out particulars as soon as Ryan retrieved the young boy from the other boat. While she was waiting, however, Gayle began the steps of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, known more commonly as CPR. First, she checked the girl's mouth and airways for any foreign objects. Meanwhile, as she continued, Ryan had swum over to the young boy on the stranded boat. The boy seemed to be shaken and a little rattled, but otherwise fairly coherent.
Gayle was administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when Ryan and the young boy got back to the motor boat. "I'm going to need some help, Ryan," Gayle said. "Why don't you take over chest compressions for me, while I continue mouth-to-mouth."
Ryan immediately got into position, sensing that every second was going to count if this young girl was going to pull through. He had worked before with another person in giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the compressions he gave were in accurate unison with Gayle. They continued to work on the girl for three or four minutes. "How long was she in the water?" Ryan asked the young boy, as he continued.
"I don't know for sure," the young boy, obviously very frightened, shakily said.
"What is your name?" Ryan asked, trying to calm the boy down.
"Jerry."
"Can you tell me this girl's name?"
"Andrea, she's my sister."
Another three minutes passed and Gayle was beginning to become very nervous. She had never dealt with a real life emergency. Ryan sensed her despair and attempted to calm her also. They had to get the girl to shore as soon as possible if she was to have any chance of surviving. With that thought in mind, Ryan stopped chest compressions just long enough to get the boat pointed toward the shore and instruct Jerry on how to work the motor. Soon he was back in position and Jerry was moving them toward the bank. A few minutes later they reached the bank where Tom Frost was waiting.
"An ambulance is on the way," he said, helping get the boat secured to the dock. "What is her status?"
"We've been trying to resuscitate her since we got her out of the water, but so far we haven't been successful," Ryan quickly offered, as he continued to work. "She has got to start breathing soon."
"I agree. Keep working while I talk to this young boy," Tom instructed, leading the boy away from the excitement.
"What is your name, young man?" Tom asked.
"Jerry."
"Jerry, what?"
"Jerry Lincoln."
"And, is she your sister?" Tom continued to calm the young boy.
"Yes."
"Can you tell me a little bit about what happened out there?" Tom pointed toward the boat still sitting stationary in the lake.
"We were getting ready to come to shore when Andrea . . . ." Their conversation was abruptly interrupted.
"She's breathing on her own, but it's really shallow," Gayle exclaimed, almost completely exhausted. As if on cue, the ambulance from Browning, the closest town with a hospital, came up to the scene. Gayle and Ryan relinquished their positions as the paramedics took over.
As the paramedics continued the work of getting Andrea ready for transport, Gayle and Ryan joined Tom Frost while he continued his conversation with Jerry. They were not more than ten feet away and could easily assist if needed.
"Go ahead, Jerry," Tom encouraged the boy to continue.
"I don't know why. She just decided she wanted to swim for a few minutes before we came back to shore. She is a good swimmer. I don't know what happened. I was doing something in the boat and all the sudden Andrea screamed." Jerry's words were choppy and falling over each other. He was trying to watch what the paramedics were doing as he tried to explain what happened.
"I just thought of something," Tom interrupted. "We need to notify your parents, Jerry. Can you tell us where they're at?"
"We have a camp site over there," Jerry indicated an area three or four hundred yards down the beach. It was a developed area with about twenty available spots. Tom looked in that direction through his binoculars, noticing seven spots were occupied.
"Which camp is yours, Jerry?" Tom asked.
"We have a blue and white trailer. I believe it's called a fifth-wheel. Anyway, dad hooks it to a ball in the bed of the truck. But it really doesn't matter, because dad and mom went to town for the evening."
Andrea was being loaded into the ambulance. Noticing what was happening, Gayle nudged Tom to get his attention. "They're getting ready to move the girl," Gayle said, "perhaps her brother should go with her to the hospital, while we try to find their parents."
"That's a good idea," Tom agreed. "In fact, why don't you accompany Jerry to the hospital and I will send Ryan to locate their parents."
Gayle and Jerry quickly climbed into the rear of the ambulance. Tom halted the paramedic just as he began to close the doors. "Do you have any idea what your parents were planning to do in town, Jerry?"
"I don't know. They said something about dancing."
"We must get going, sir," the paramedic said.
"Of course, I'm sorry," Tom said, moving away from the ambulance. He had seen near drownings before and was keenly aware of the young girl's need for prompt medical attention. Everything would depend on how long Andrea had been denied oxygen; especially to her brain. If her central nervous system had taken too hard of a blow, the damage may not be repairable. Tom hoped that wasn't the case. He knew simply from the time that Gayle and Ryan worked on her, plus the amount of time she spent under the water's surface, that her chance for total recovery wasn't the best. Still, for her family's sake, he would have to be positive.
"Ryan," Tom called to his assistant, standing ten feet away. "I want you to go over to Loop B and look for a blue and white fifth-wheel. See if anybody is home. If they are, tell them I would like to talk to them, but don't tell them the reason. If they're not there, come back and let me know."
Ryan checked and returned in less than ten minutes. "Nobody around," he said.
"Okay, I want you to get Brooke, then both of you need to go into Browning and find that girl's parents. The boy, Jerry, said he thinks they went dancing, so try any place that offers that type of entertainment."
Before Tom could finish, Ryan was running toward the staff quarters. Brooke Williams, another female volunteer, was supposed to be cleaning the inside of the building. He arrived at the oblong shaped rustic building twenty seconds later and found Brooke busily cleaning the bathroom all of them would share. "We had a near drowning on the lake," Ryan exclaimed, as he got Brooke's attention. Tom wants you and I to go into Browning and locate the victim's parents. I'll explain the circumstances and give you some details as we go."
"I thought I heard some commotion outside a few minutes ago," Brooke replied, getting her jacket and following Ryan out the door. They returned to where Tom was standing talking to some onlookers. "Just wanted to let you know we were on our way," Ryan informed his boss.
"Okay," Tom replied, "be careful, and get back here as soon as possible."
With that, Ryan and Brooke ran to Brooke's Jeep and started toward town. Ryan grabbed the dashboard as Brooke careened around a sharp curve. She obviously knew the road; nevertheless, he was still nervous.
"Where do you propose we look first?" Ryan asked. "There must be a dozen bars in Browning where dancing is popular, especially on a Saturday night."
"I say we start at the end of town as we enter and work our way through," Brooke answered, as she negotiated another hair pinned turn. "There's also the possibility that they could be at a private club."
Brooke slowed down as they entered the outskirts of town. She instructed Ryan to watch for possible establishments on the right side of the road while she watched the left. Browning wasn't large so Brooke guessed that most of the bars would be on or close to the main road. Soon Ryan spotted a place called Big Willy's. "Pull over here," he advised Brooke, pointing in the direction of Big Willy's. "I'll bet there's dancing in there."
Ryan and Brooke entered Big Willy's to find thirty to forty people involved in various activities. As Brooke looked beyond the initial customers she noticed a medium sized dance floor. It looked like it could accommodate eight to ten couples. There were four couples dancing presently. Ryan worked his way over to the bar to ask the bartender if he knew the Lincoln's and if they were there. After a couple minutes he returned to where Brooke was standing.
"The bartender does know the Lincoln's, but says he hasn't seen them all night. He said they come in occasionally, but they prefer places that cater to square dancing and Virginia Reel. There's a place on Court Street called The Westerner the bartender recommended trying," Ryan gave Brooke a quick run down of his just concluded conversation.
Brooke and Ryan headed toward The Westerner following the directions given to Ryan by the bartender of Big Willy's. Seven minutes later they pulled into The Westerner's parking lot. If the outside was an indication, this place was definitely more rustic than the place they just left. It took three more minutes to explain to the doorman that there had been an accident and they were simply looking for a couple named Lincoln.
The doorman showed Ryan and Brooke to a platformed area where a man was calling a dance. "As soon as he is finished he will page the Lincoln's for you. I couldn't say for sure if they're here or not. As you can see," the doorman swept his arm in an arching motion, "there are at least 200 people in here."
Ryan had noticed upon walking in that the place looked fairly packed. Finally, the song ended and they got the caller's attention. They gave him the Lincoln's name and waited. The page went out twice and was soon responded to. A tall man, probably in his forties, and a woman, somewhat shorter, but still tall, and probably close to forty approached the raised platform. As they reached the platform Ryan and Brooke went over to meet them.
"Are you Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln?" Ryan asked.
"That is our name," the man answered, confused.
"Are you currently camping at the Lake Victoria recreation area?" Ryan continued.
"Yes," the man answered again. "What is this all about? Have the kids gotten into trouble or something?"
"No," Brooke entered the conversation. "Could you please tell us your children's names?"
"Jerry and Andrea," the man said, becoming agitated. "Will you please tell us who you are and what's going on?"
Brooke took the man's arm and led him away from the crowd. "We work at Lake Victoria and I'm afraid there's been an accident. We had a near drowning. It was your daughter."
"Where is she. . . . How is she. . . .?" Mr. Lincoln quickly became very disoriented.
"She has been taken to the hospital. We would be glad to drive you over there."
"No, that won't be necessary," Mr. Lincoln said, concluding their conversation and returning to his wife. He grabbed her hand and they both exited The Westerner.
"I sure hope everything will turn out okay for them," Brooke said, indicating the Lincoln's.
"So do I," Ryan agreed. Within a few moments they began their return trip to Lake Victoria.
The ambulance drove urgently into the emergency room parking area. Even with all the efforts of the paramedics, Andrea remained in a state of unconsciousness. They were met at the door by the ER doctor and three assistants, one male and two female. As they wheeled Andrea quickly to the nearest available examination room, the doctor got the particulars of the case from the lead paramedic. Gayle and Jerry were following close behind.
"Is she going to be okay?" Jerry asked.
"I don't know for sure, Jerry," Gayle offered, as they reached the door of the examination room. The door was closed in front of them by a nurse.
"You will have to wait out here for now," the nurse explained. "Is either one of you related to the patient?"
Gayle did the talking. "This is her brother," she told the nurse, indicating Jerry. "We are also looking for her parents."
"Can you tell me your sister's name?" the nurse addressed Jerry directly.
"Andrea Lincoln."
"How old is she?" the nurse continued.
"Seventeen. Her birthday was last week."
"I understand basically that Andrea had an accident while swimming," the nurse kept the conversation going, remembering the harried hallway discussion between the doctor and the paramedic. "Can you give me some more substantial details about what happened?"
Jerry began recounting what had happened earlier that evening. He really didn't want to, but the images were conjured up or should he say triggered by the question he had just been asked. It was like reliving a nightmare and he was a part of it. He didn't want to be part of it. Finally, after several moments, he regained his composure and explained as fully as he could the events leading up to the accident, the near drowning itself, and the subsequent rescue.
"When can I see her?" Jerry asked. They had been there for a long time, he was sure. Probably well over an hour. Actually, only fifteen minutes had passed.
"The doctor is still in there working on your sister," the nurse said, "you'll have to wait until he comes out. I'm sure it won't be too much longer."
Three minutes later Andrea's and Jerry's parents, Jack and Beth Lincoln, ran through the automatic ER door. Upon seeing the serenity, they quickly slowed down. The nurse's station was to their left down a short perpendicular hall. "We are the Lincoln's," Jack Lincoln offered impatiently, "where is our daughter?"
The nurse recognized the last name. "Your daughter is in Room 7 with the doctor. She can't have any visitors for a few minutes. The doctor will come out and visit with you as soon as he can. Meanwhile, your son is down the hall in the waiting room and quite shaken up."
"Okay," Mr. Lincoln said, "we will also be down there, but I expect you to notify us the second we can see our daughter. We're very concerned about her and want to know what is going on."
"I will come down to get you the minute the doctor says it's okay for you to go in," the nurse reassured the Lincoln's.
Jack and Beth Lincoln walked into the waiting room and saw their son sitting next to a young lady. When Jerry saw his parents he was instantly out of his seat and in his mom's arms. He started to cry uncontrollably. "There wasn't anything I could do. . . I was so scared. . . Andrea quit swimming; she is a good swimmer. I couldn't help her," Jerry babbled into his mother's shoulder.
"Everything is going to be okay, son," Beth Lincoln comforted her youngest. "I'm sure everything was done that could be done."
"That's right, son," his father joined in, "it wasn't your fault. Besides, your sister is going to be fine and we will put all of this behind us. Everything will be back to normal before you know it."
After a few moments the Lincoln's noticed the young lady who was initially sitting next to their son was now standing a few feet away from them. It didn't seem like she wanted to leave nor did she want to interrupt them. Finally, Jerry moved slightly away from his mother and noticed Gayle standing to his left. They looked each other in the eye, and then Jerry walked over, still sobbing, and gave Gayle a hug. "This is Gayle," Jerry explained to his parents, "she gave Andrea CPR and saved her life."
Jack and Beth Lincoln walked over to Gayle, also hugging her, and thanked her for what she had done. "We are indebted to you," Jerry's dad said, "if there's anything we can ever do, please let us know. Your effort can never fully be repaid."
"I work at Lake Victoria and I'm trained in CPR," Gayle said, "I was just doing my job. Anyway, it looks like Jerry is in good hands now and I need to return to the lake before it gets real late. If you will excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”
"You rode in the ambulance with me," Jerry interjected. "How were you planning to get back?"
"I guess I'll have to call one of the staff," Gayle considered her dilemma. "I had forgotten with everything that has happened."
Gayle started down the hallway to the nurse's station when she heard from behind, "I love you, Gayle." It was Jerry who had mouthed the words. They were meant affectionately. Gayle, herself, began to cry.
Just as Gayle began to dial the number for Lake Victoria Recreational Area, the ER doctor walked past her heading toward the waiting Lincoln family. There was a somber look in his eyes.