When the Heflin family went to the beach in July, they never dreamed the planned day of pleasure would become a harrowing experience they would never forget. A woman would die and her daughter would narrowly escape death in the water before the day was over.
Sam, Jeanne and their two sons, all members of Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Morgan County, were in the North Topsail Beach, N.C., area. They were visiting Jeanne’s family who lived nearby and spending time on the beach.
“They had heard on the radio all week that the riptides were real bad, and if you go in the water at all, to not go out past your knees,” Heflin said.
And the Heflin family heeded the warning.
“Joshua, Zackery and I were playing around in the edge of the water, and Jeanne was up at the umbrella, enjoying the sun,” he said. “The first thing I really knew was when she came down to get me and said that there was somebody in trouble.”
“We started down the beach,” Heflin said. “There was a woman standing there crying, saying that some people were in trouble in the water. There was an older man, lying on the ground. You could tell that he was out of breath, just worn out.” Heflin later learned that the woman was the victim’s sister and the man also was with the victims.
About 60 yards out, Heflin could see three heads bobbing in the water. One of them was waving and calling for help. A Marine reservist who spent 15 years on active duty, Heflin was quick to respond according to his training.
Heflin said the man calling for help was Don Parrish, a fellow Marine who, like himself, was attempting to help the two women in distress. “When I got out to Don, he had the lady from behind and was trying to hold onto her, and the daughter had her arms around the mother and him.
“I could tell he was pretty tired, so I took the mother from him. I found out her name was Theresa Houck. Her eyes were closed, and she looked like she was unconscious,” he said.
Both men moved toward the shore with the victims, where Mrs. Heflin, who has some medical training, and a nurse met them and helped bring them to shore.
“Don got the little girl in as far as he could, but he was so shaky he was having trouble, so the R.N. and I went out to help,” Mrs. Heflin said. “We were about waist high.”
The little girl appeared to be OK, so the two women turned their attention to Heflin, who was tiring quickly from the effort to fight the riptide and carry the unconscious woman to safety.
“Sam was so tired, he just collapsed on the beach,” Mrs. Heflin said. “The R.N., another woman and I started CPR on Theresa. There was a crowd of people on the beach by then, but they just stood back and didn’t offer to help.”
The women continued CPR until an ambulance arrived.
The Heflins learned later that the emergency personnel were able to revive the mother on the way to the hospital, but she died soon afterward. The daughter was treated and released from the hospital.
The experience was unsettling for the Heflin family. The children seem to have weathered the incident well, although the parents are still shaken by it.
“We came out of the experience with more questions than answers — questions like ‘Why?’ and ‘What if we had been there a little sooner?’” Mrs. Heflin said.
“We were there for a reason,” Mrs. Heflin noted. “Maybe it was for the little girl.”
Heflin has been recommended for a Marine Corps Lifesaving medal by his unit.
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