My son, Joshua Scurlock, drowned while swimming with a friend near Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. He was 19 years old. His friend helplessly watched him drown after the exhaustion of fighting the current to save his own life. I tell him every chance I get, that he did the right thing staying on the beach and getting help. Of course, he feels extremely guilty for not going back in the water to save him, something he could not physically do. Instead he did the best thing possible, yell for help.

An experienced surfer was just coming in for the day because the waves were so rough and risked his own life to try rescue my son. It took everything within him to pull his body up onto his surfboard and maneuver his way back up to shore. When they reached the beach, he began CPR; however, it was only seconds before paramedics arrived. I don’t really know how long my son was in the water but I can imagine the difficulty the surfer experienced while fighting the current to reach him. He had already drowned when he reached his lifeless body. I thank God every day for that surfer. He brought my son’s body back to me. He could have been washed out to sea and I would not have had the chance to bring him home for a proper burial.

Josh grew up in Indiana and we frequently visited Florida, as many other Hoosiers do. I moved Josh to his “paradise” apartment in Cape Canaveral, FL, on September 1, 2004. Josh died November 13, 2004. He was fulfilling his dream, living five blocks from the beach, appreciating the beauty of the ocean every day. He loved the water and he was a great swimmer. Unfortunately, living far from the ocean, he was never taught about rip currents.

I’m now trying to raise rip current awareness in my state so that no one else loses their life. I’m told over half of the deaths from rip currents are people from the Midwest. This is all the more reason to raise awareness. Everyone should know how to escape from a rip current. We teach our children what to do if caught in a tornado because we see a lot of them in the state of Indiana. Why do we not teach them about rip currents? Is it because we don’t have any water here? I don’t know the answer but I’m doing everything in my power to change it. If you talk to people here, they don’t even know what a rip current is, much less how to save their own life if caught in one. I’m starting with the high schools around spring break time. It’s the perfect opportunity to help spread awareness. All of the kids flock to the beaches during vacation. They all relate to my son’s story and realize that this can happen to them. My goal is to reach the entire Midwest through our school systems.

John Lane, the heroic surfer who risked his life to bring me my son’s body, gave me the gift of being able to tell my son good-bye and kiss one last time. Tell everyone you know about rip currents and their potential dangers of taking a life. Help me in raising awareness, no matter where you live. I hope no one else has to say that kind of goodbye.

Originally posted on http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ripcurrents/real_life.shtml