Seven-year-old Cody Krabbendam of Salmon Arm was awarded a silver medal for bravery by the Lifesaving Society of B.C. and Yukon, Saturday, May 15, 2021.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Lifesaving Society of B.C. and Yukon
May 18, 2021 - 12:00 PM
A seven-year-old Salmon Arm boy was one of 15 recipients of a bravery award from the Lifesaving Society of British Columbia and Yukon last weekend.
The lifesaving society presented Cody Krabbendam with a silver medal for bravery at a virtual ceremony that took place on Saturday, May 15, and he also received the George A. Brown Memorial Award and scholarship for the most heroic rescue performed by a pre-teen, according to a release from the society.
Krabbendam was with family and friends at Sicamous Beach Park on Shuswap Lake in July 2020, on one of the docks floating in the park’s flooded swim area when he saw another boy who had jumped from the dock without a lifejacket get caught in the current.
The boy began to panic and call for help.
Krabbendam, wearing a lifejacket, leapt into the water to rescue him, the society said. The boy’s father was alerted to the danger and raced to the water's edge, stepping into the cold, three-metre deep water at the same time his mom Kim ran across the beach to the two boys’ aid.
The boy was pulling Cody beneath the water and both boys becoming panicky. The boy’s father made it to a nearby dock where he attempted to calm the two, but he didn’t jump in.
When Kim saw this, she jumped into the water and swam to the two youth, the society said. Kim got to the boys, who were trying to calm down. Some friends helped the youths get to a buoy where they stayed until lifejackets were brought from shore.
Kim brought the rescued boy to shore first, but when she returned for Cody, he was terrified to get back in the water. A small boat was brought out and he was safely returned to shore.
The lifesaving society said Kim found out later the rescued boy’s father had a medical condition that prevented him from making a rescue attempt. The two families met following the incident and the boy’s mom told Cody, “don’t ever forget you just saved his life.”
The families hugged and cried together before going their separate ways, but Cody was upset for days after the incident as he continued to think about what could have happened, the society said.
Cody was honoured for his kind heart and caring for others in helping save another boy’s life.
He gets embarrassed when the word hero comes up, the society said. It took him a while to understand that it was a unique and special thing he had done.
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