LONG BEACH, Wash. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy who spent as long as 20 minutes immersed in the Pacific Ocean surf before he was rescued is amazing his family.
Doug Knutzen is part of the volunteer surf rescue team that spotted the boy in the water near Long Beach, Wash., last Friday. When Knutzen carried Charles “Dale” Ostrander from the surf and handed him to medics, the veteran rescuer feared the worst. Still, Dale’s pulse returned when he reached a nearby hospital.
He was flown from the southwest Washington coast to OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Ore. The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/pOM33k) that the boy opened his eyes Sunday night as he was eased off sedatives.
On Monday he said a handful of words to his parents, Chad and Kirsten Ostrander of Spanaway, Wash. Doctors have cautioned his parents that even if Dale survives, he could have permanent brain damage. But as Chad Ostrander told reporters Tuesday, “Maybe there is a miracle that’s happening here.”
