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May 28, 2023 - 3:30 PM
A Kelowna father feels grateful for his first aid training after his wife suffered a medical emergency while at the beach last weekend.
Ben Stanford had his phone out to capture a moment of family fun as his wife Rachel was taking a jump off the rope swing at Gyro Park.
After splashing into the water, Rachel screamed upon surfacing. It was her first jump of the year and Ben initially assumed she was reacting to how cold the water was. The urgency of the situation was not immediately apparent.
“I wasn’t 100% sure what was happening,” he said.
As Ben ran towards his wife, his daughter could see blood coming from the mouth and a tooth was missing, and that’s when he realized she was in distress.
“My concern had been raised, but at that point I was only thinking ‘Oh no we’re going to need a new tooth,” he said.
But then he heard Rachel say, “Ow my neck.”
“Then the concern amped right up there,” Ben said.
Rachel needed to be rushed to the hospital where it was revealed that she had a broken neck. On their way out of the water, Ben – who’s a care aide by profession – knew to have her spine supported, and he was told by a doctor that likely minimized the damage.
“I can’t say enough good things about getting your first aid training,” he said.
Nevertheless Rachel’s injury is severe. Optimistically, she will need 8 to 10 weeks to recover. But after 10 weeks it’s possible that surgery will be required, which will mean a longer recovery process.
Ben won’t have any income while he cares full time for Rachel, who’s a mother of six.
The family has launched a Gofundme “To cover lost wages, medical and travel expenses.”
More than $9,000 had been raised by the time of publication.
Getting supported by that amount of money, in addition to the number of people who have offered to cook and drive for the family, has been deeply humbling, Ben said.
“We’re so grateful the community’s come and supported us."
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