Boy Under Water for 20 Minutes Is Now Completely Fine
[There was a video here]
Twelve-year-old Dale Ostrander was swimming in the Pacific Ocean in Washington with his church youth group on Friday when he was dragged underwater by a riptide. He was submerged for 20 minutes before rescue workers found him. Now he's just, you know, totally fine.
On Sunday, doctors, who initially expected him to be brain dead, called his name and he opened his eyes. When he started breathing on his own, doctors tried to get him to cough repeatedly and an annoyed Dale said, "I don't need to." Now that he's talking again, it's like nothing happened.
Naturally his religious parents credit God and the prayers of his youth group for the "miracle." Does this mean I'm going to have to start believing in Jesus in case I have some sort of swimming mishap? What happened with Dale is, in fact, miraculous, and I'm certainly glad that he's recovering nicely. But this kid didn't know how to swim. Why was he allowed to go into the ocean in the first place? That doesn't seem to have been the best decision made by the adults around him. Sure, trust in God, but lock your doors too. And don't wade into the ocean without knowing how to swim.