Her Last Swim

Her Last Swim

By: Susan McKenzie

The warm, golden sun had already begun sinking deeply into the pink horizon, casting a shimmering glow on the rippled hot mineral pool. A family with three children were splashing with hoots and hollering in the shallow end of the hot healing waters, taking turns riding on their daddy's shoulders.

I settled into my perch on the stairs dividing the two pools, breathing in the thick, misty vapors, and listening to the soft splash of the water. The towering fountain shaped in the form of a volcano sprayed continuously fresh water into the pool, at a rate of almost 1.4 million gallons a day!

From my lazy perch I spotted a couple entering the pool area, looking to be in their late forties. With her long blonde hair in a graceful french twist, the woman swept off her plush robe and delicately slipped into the steamy waters. Although very thin and fragile, this lady was elegant in every way. Her husband sat down at the far end of the pool and began to leisurely undress.

It was a pleasure to watch the woman swim gracefully across the pool, each perfect stroke marked her as an expert swimmer. In the peace of the waning day none of us envisioned the horror about to engulf us. The peace lasted only a moment longer.

I turned around on the steps, grinning as two children giggled and shouted at the top of their lungs as their daddy powerfully swept them both up out of the water, high above his head. Next to them, two middle-aged sisters shivered in the brisk May air, eager to plunge into the sulphuric vapors. One of them pointed her finger with excitement calling, "Look at the turtles!"

Eager to see such a site in the natural pool, we all turned to gaze at two dark round shapes in the water nearly ten feet away. It took a full half-minute to realize these were NOT turtles!

Crying out in horror, the husband from the far corner began to swim strongly toward the dark shapes and I watched his face twist in pain as he grabbed the limp form out of the water. In shock I realized it was the woman's shoulders as her body floated face-down beneath the surface of the water. She had been peacefully swimming just a minute ago!

It seemed to take my body a long time to stand up and step across the narrow cement divider, like maybe it was all a dream? No, it was real – too real. I reached the woman just as her husband laid her cold body on the cement. It seemed like we were all moving in slow motion and finally someone yelled, "Call 911!" The two middle-aged women turned out to be nurses and while the husband initiated CPR the nurses checked her vital signs. I just prayed.

At last, giving up blowing into his wife's mouth, the husband desperately cried out for someone to help, for someone to pray. Powerlessly he stood up as a pool staff person commenced chest compressions. Alternating between despair and hope, the man refused to give up hope as he cried up into the air. "Come back into your body, baby! You've got grandkids… you're not done yet!"

The ambulance arrived and everything that could be done was done, but still the woman could not be revived. Vital statistics were shouted out… age 48, 96 pounds, history of heart and kidney diseases and back problems… Later we were to discover that it's much easier to revive a drowning victim in cold water than it is in hot water. Even a healthy person rarely stands a chance of recovery if they drown in hot water.

Bowing down and hunching over a bench, the husband kept crying out for someone to please bring his wife back… it wasn't her time… or was it?

This woman, I discovered, had been suffering tremendously for several years, in and out of hospitals. A life of constant pain and agony. Just that morning she had been to the hospital to receive a spinal injection to help abate the pain. The warm mineral waters, she said, felt healing to her weary body.

Those were her last words.

Maybe it really was her time… some people can only take so much pain. She died while on vacation with the man she dearly loved.

Her last earthly sensation was not the stab of a sharp, cold needle in a sterile hospital or the anesthetic smell of a surgical room… but it was the soft touch of healing waters on her hurting body at a place she and her husband had grown to love as their favorite vacation spot.

I often think of this woman I never met until she drowned… the cry of her husband's voice calling her back into her body… the plea for that grandma to return for her grandkids… is the voice of deep, committed love. Yet, a greater Lover called her home. 

I cannot help but believe this woman, even at the young-ish age of 48, left an amazing legacy of love for her family. She lived in extreme pain for so many years, perhaps holding on just for those precious kin.

Although I felt so very sad for the family left behind by the drowned woman, as I gazed at her cold, naked body lying on the cement, I could not help but feel joy for the woman who had been loved to such an extent. On that day, I asked God for a husband to love me that deeply.

The love of that couple, witnessed on one of their darkest days, was like a brilliant ray of Light in my soul… it presented me with a picture labeled, "It's possible. If it can happen to them, it can happen to you!" I'm glad I was there, that day in May, two years ago. For today, perhaps as a result of that prayer and that hope, I am loved by such a man… who treats me like a princess!

"Don't take for granted where you've been, where you currently are or where you are going! Your story could save someone's life!" ~ Jeremie Webb

Never be ashamed to tell your story. Your darkest moment is when the Light shines brightest through your soul! You never know who is listening and watching the story of your life. Let your Light shine, especially in those darkest of times. Your story matters!

With all my love,

Sue

PS  One of my readers wrote to me yesterday: "Thank you for your articles. They helped me and I started thinking. I was making someone the most important thing in my life (idol), even though he was literally giving me bad/poisonous fruit…" She went on to share that God had given her an amazing physical healing as well as a spiritual/emotional epiphany! I thought to myself… "If baring my heart and sharing my story can help just this one woman, it's all worth it!" Your story really does matter! 🙂

Susan McKenzie is passionate about "immunizing" young women and teens against abuse. She knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming book, "Joy in the Journey: Abused No More," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she navigated her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor –  to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "Joy in the Journey: Abused No More" by registering here.

Copyright 2012, Susan McKenzie, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline and bio, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references.  For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan McKenzie.

Tagged as: Choosing Love Today, Deborah White Dove