Be Prepared

Last summer, Gabriel and Michael M. of Georgia, USA, both received the Boy Scouts of America Honor Medal for saving their father’s life. While the boys and their father were on a kayaking trip in Texas, their father fell off a rope swing 22 feet above the Guadalupe River. He fell onto the kayaks below, passed out, and sank to the bottom of the river. Gabriel swam down and pulled his father to the surface. With an uncle’s help, Gabriel and Michael were able to get their father into his kayak. Then they had to help guide him over one-half mile to the nearest takeout point where help was waiting to take him to the hospital. Their father had broken his right shoulder, six fingers, several ribs, and his right ankle. Just weeks before the accident, Michael had taken lifesaving and kayaking classes at Scout camp.

Photograph courtesy of Michael M.