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Woman saved from drowning Heather Lange Northern News Services Published Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The 22 and 23-year-old rescuers were having a picnic at the site closest to the boat launch in the Yellowknife River day use area, when a woman came up frantically asking if they had a boat. "We looked at where the woman was pointing in the water and saw a woman floating in the river. Brad (Ruptash) and Cameron (MacIsaac) jumped in and dragged her out and I did compressions while Paige (McDonald) did mouth-to-mouth," said Rachel Bowden. "I did about five to seven compressions and then she started breathing," said McDonald, who has her bronze cross in lifesaving and current first aid training. "You could tell there was water in her lungs because she was foaming at the mouth." MacIsaac confirmed the woman was not breathing initially. "Brad dove in and I dove in after him, she was face down in the water," he said. "We flipped her over and her lips were all blue. It was intense." Christopher Woytuik helped to drag the unconscious woman out of the water while two other friends, Kate Jefferson and Joanna Leprieur, called an ambulance. "We did what we thought we had to do at the time," said Bowden. "We didn't want her to die," said McDonald. "If we weren't there, someone else would have stepped up. I think it's important to take first aid. You hope you never have to use it but if you have to it's important to have." Cpl. Wes Heron said he did not have an update on the woman's condition late Tuesday afternoon, but "to my knowledge she is still alive." Heron confirmed the RCMP responded to a call of a 43-year-old aboriginal woman unconscious but still breathing at the Yellowknife River on Tuesday afternoon. "She was with friends at the family day use area, when she decided to go swimming. Her friends didn't want to go so she went swimming by herself," he said. "She got into distress and there was some local people who responded and got her out of the water. She was unconscious but breathing when the RCMP arrived."
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