Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

CPR at Marine St. beach

Mission Bay High student becomes unwitting hero

The following was an entry in a young people's writing contest by Charles Hasse, a 16-year-old from Mission Bay High School. The contest entries were published in the Dec. 13, 1984 Reader.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Charles Hasse (left) in the Dec. 13, 1984 Reader

I ran down to the shore with my friend, Greg, ready to challenge the well known Marine St. waves.

I noticed how far the rip-current had carried me from the place I started at. I watched another bodysurfer catch a huge wave about 100 feet away from me. He was swimming far too slowly to catch and ride it correctly. He caught the wave at the top of its lip and went on to tumble over the pouring falls. At first, I thought it was funny, watching this guy mess up so badly. But, when he didn’t appear again, I began to worry. No one else was in the water except for me and him. I went to the exact spot where he was and scanned the water. Then, just to the right, about 10 feet from me, was this brown sphere floating in the water. Swimming closer to it, I noticed that the brown sphere was connected to a neck and arms! His head and arms were just floating on top, with his face under the water, just bobbing up and down in the ruff ocean. Turning the body over, I saw that the boy's face was tanned except for the purple bruise on his forehead. I took his head under my arm and dog paddled the two of us back to shore.

Since I was the only person at this end of the beach, I was going to have to do C.P.R. I proceeded to clear his mouth of water or any other substances. I then checked his pulse by pressing two fingers next to his adams apple. His blood was circulating! “O.K now, check for breathing.” There were no breaths.

“O.K. tilt the head back and blow into his mouth”. I went on to do that, but it wasn’t working! The air just blew back at me through his nose. I knew I forgot something, I had to plug his nose. Success, his lungs expanded! I kept up the breathing with a count “one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three — breathe . . . again, one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three — breathe”. Doubts began to fill my mind. I was wondering if this was ever going to work. Within the next minute, a crowd of people were surrounding me, just starring at me and this poor guy, laying there in his turquoise and yellow bathing suit. “Here, do you want me to take over?” “Yes, After this last breath — two-one thousand, three — breathe.” After I administered the last breath, this man about in his mid-thirties took over and continued C.P.R. I learned later that the man who took overs name was Kenny. He kept up about 5 more breaths then stopped. After all that work, the guy couldn’t be dead. Then Kenny said “He’s breathing on his own.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led

The following was an entry in a young people's writing contest by Charles Hasse, a 16-year-old from Mission Bay High School. The contest entries were published in the Dec. 13, 1984 Reader.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Charles Hasse (left) in the Dec. 13, 1984 Reader

I ran down to the shore with my friend, Greg, ready to challenge the well known Marine St. waves.

I noticed how far the rip-current had carried me from the place I started at. I watched another bodysurfer catch a huge wave about 100 feet away from me. He was swimming far too slowly to catch and ride it correctly. He caught the wave at the top of its lip and went on to tumble over the pouring falls. At first, I thought it was funny, watching this guy mess up so badly. But, when he didn’t appear again, I began to worry. No one else was in the water except for me and him. I went to the exact spot where he was and scanned the water. Then, just to the right, about 10 feet from me, was this brown sphere floating in the water. Swimming closer to it, I noticed that the brown sphere was connected to a neck and arms! His head and arms were just floating on top, with his face under the water, just bobbing up and down in the ruff ocean. Turning the body over, I saw that the boy's face was tanned except for the purple bruise on his forehead. I took his head under my arm and dog paddled the two of us back to shore.

Since I was the only person at this end of the beach, I was going to have to do C.P.R. I proceeded to clear his mouth of water or any other substances. I then checked his pulse by pressing two fingers next to his adams apple. His blood was circulating! “O.K now, check for breathing.” There were no breaths.

“O.K. tilt the head back and blow into his mouth”. I went on to do that, but it wasn’t working! The air just blew back at me through his nose. I knew I forgot something, I had to plug his nose. Success, his lungs expanded! I kept up the breathing with a count “one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three — breathe . . . again, one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three — breathe”. Doubts began to fill my mind. I was wondering if this was ever going to work. Within the next minute, a crowd of people were surrounding me, just starring at me and this poor guy, laying there in his turquoise and yellow bathing suit. “Here, do you want me to take over?” “Yes, After this last breath — two-one thousand, three — breathe.” After I administered the last breath, this man about in his mid-thirties took over and continued C.P.R. I learned later that the man who took overs name was Kenny. He kept up about 5 more breaths then stopped. After all that work, the guy couldn’t be dead. Then Kenny said “He’s breathing on his own.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.
Next Article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Aug. 20, 2018
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Aug. 20, 2018
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader