Where had this water come from? Apparently the Jeep had not just fallen into a deep snow bank, but one that covered a pond. I wouldn’t worry about how deep the water was or even what would I do if the Jeep continued to slip down into the watery depths. All I could think about now was my concern for my beautiful son and that he was trapped underwater.
I think it’s true what they say about time doing funny tricks in an emergency. I swear to God that it truly seems to slow down. All of my thoughts and plans were formulated in just nanoseconds. What people would have seen was with no thought I was sliding towards the back of the Jeep. Ok, so I didn’t have any real plan other than to get my baby back, but movement was action.
Pushing past Alexi, I plunged through the back window hole as if I was diving into our pool. The reality of what I was doing came quickly behind my foolish action. My breadth was stolen right out from my lungs as my head, arms and chest went into the water. Alexi continued to yell out Alex’s name over and over again as if with her pure determination and a prayer she could part the waters. I was so fucking cold, I wish she could have parted the waters.
Dunking my head again into the water, shot an ice pick right into my forehead like the worst brain freeze you could imagine. Apparently my head bump didn’t appreciate the cold exposure. I again pushed through the broken window, blindly reaching around the back of the jeep trying to feel his body. Later as I had time to think about the event, I was surprised that my fingers and arms didn’t go instantly numb. But at the time it was as if I was totally disconnected with my body. You could have shot me and I would never had noticed it.
Not wanting to admit defeat, I continued to dunk the top portion of my body through the hole while trying to reach out farther and farther each time. When my numb fingers actually closed on the back of Alex’s jacket, it was done automatically without any thought at all. It was like being in a black room cut off from all of my senses. When my fingers grasped the edge of his jacket hood, my world exploded. Mostly from pain. It was the first time that I realized that my fingers were screaming in pain as the cold icy water destroyed my both my hands and arms.
As bad as I hurt all over, there was just no way that I was going to let go of my son. Not after I had found him against the odds. Locking my hips to the broken window, I began to pull back with all of my might. Alex had now been in the water nearly three minutes. I knew I had only seconds to get him out of this water or he would soon be dead.
As I pulled, my head popped up out of the water and I began to scream “God! Oh God!” half in prayer and desperation. I realized that I had very little leverage and I needed to lift the weight of my grown boy back out of the water and back into the cab.
Picture laying on your stomach. Now picture laying downward in a slope so I had to press my feet into the side walls of the back seat just to keep from sliding down into the water myself. Now picture a 110 pound woman, dead lifting 170 pound man stripped, which he wasn’t. Instead Alex had all of his clothes on including his down filled jacket. I still think this is what saved us. The down jacket was waterproof, making it act like a crude life jacket, this kept his body close to the jeep. So once I got his body moving back through the hole, the jacket helped me float him up to us.