CLEVELAND — Alex Belisle, 72, and his neighbor, Michelle Murray met up last Saturday for a fun day of paddle boarding at Wendy Park this past Saturday. They never expected their adventure would bond them for life.
Alex knows how to swim, but until Saturday, he'd never hit the water on a paddle board. He bought one online along with a life jacket. He even watched YouTube videos to learn how. But that wasn't enough. When he was about 200 yards out, he fell in.
"And I'm trying to bob up immediately. Gasping for air and the panic kicks in," Alex told us. "What happened was, I flipped the whole board over but I still didn't get back on the board."
And what was worse? His life jacket wasn't on correctly. It didn't fit, and wasn't secured tightly enough. When he fell in the water, it went above his neck, causing him to swallow water and struggle to breathe for several minutes.
Coast Guard officials caution, before you hit the water, make sure your jacket fits.
"Life jackets have changed recently and they come in many different styles and different configurations and are a lot more comfortable than the old kind,"
Lt. Sean Dolan, Buffalo public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard told us. "So we recommend that folks go try them on to ensure that they're properly sized and fitted. The bigger the person is, the more flotation they're going to need. So, making sure that the buoyancy of the life jacket is appropriate is critically important."
Minutes after falling in, help arrived for Alex. It was his neighbor, Michelle, who dove right in at the first sign of trouble.
"I think I had just turned to say he's out to far, and then, he was in," Michelle told us. "I was talking to him calmly and telling him what he needed to do, which was get that grip and get solid."
She towed her friend all the way to shore. A crowd on the beach erupted in applause.
And Alex, when trying to express his gratitude for Michelle, became emotional.
"That was remarkable. That's what neighbors are for," Alex said through tears.
Alex was checked out by paramedics on shore as a precaution. He says he's feeling fine, but hopes people will learn from his mistake.
More Headlines: