A California mother had a heart attack and almost drowned when a strong wave knocked her over twice and swept her out to sea.
Teresa Tran, 49, and her friends were on a walk along Aliso Beach in Laguna Beach, California when strong waves knocked them over repeatedly as they struggled to get back up.
Amanda Trinh, the woman’s daughter, said: ‘They were just strolling forward, not paying attention to what was going on, when out of nowhere, a wave knocked them to their knees,’ according to KCAL/KCBS.
One of the women was able to get herself to the shore while another was carried out by lifeguards, according to witnesses.
When the lifeguards got to Tran, she was unconscious, having suffered a heart attack from the shock of nearly drowning.
They dragged the woman out of the water and onto the beach, where first responders began attempts to revive her.
Trinh said to KCAL: ‘Her last memory in the water is she just recalls not being able to fight anymore, and she was just thinking, “I need to keep trying,”‘
‘But then, eventually, she kept swallowing so much water, and she just gave up.’
First responders tried to find Tran’s pulse, which was very faint. They then flipped her over and she was able to vomit all the water out and regain her consciousness.
49-year-old Teresa Tran almost drowned after waves knocked her over, prompting her to have a heart attack and lose consciousness
49-year old woman was airlifted from Aliso Beach to Providence Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach after a wave knocked her over, triggering a heart attack
A California woman, 49, suffered a heart attack from the stress of getting swept into the ocean by a strong rip current
Tran was then airlifted to Mission Hospital on a medical helicopter where she spent four days before returning home to continue recovering.
Trinh set up a GoFundMe to help cover her mother’s medical expenses.
This incident occurred less than a mile away from where five-year-old Amada Mia Brown drowned after she was swept away into the ocean under similar hazardous circumstances.
Trinh hopes her mother’s story can be among those raising awareness about how fast something bad can happen.
Surf conditions along Laguna beach and greater Orange County have been extraordinarily dangerous this summer, especially following Hurricanes Fausto and Genevieve, which reached the Pacific in late July and early August, according to NOAA.
The consequent swells have caused the waves at south-facing beaches to reach 8-10 feet in height, The Orange County Register reported. Most beaches in Laguna Beach, including Aliso Beach, face southwest and are therefore impacted.
