The Fireman and the Fisherman

Chuck Wahtola, January 15, 2012

 

On January 4, the late evening news on every local channel began with the same lead story: Off-duty fireman rescues fisherman from Diversey Harbor. I was that fisherman.

I was pulled from the water, rushed to St. Joseph Hospital Emergency only two minutes away with a body temperature of 90 degrees. I stayed overnight and was released at 9:00 pm the next day after many tests proved I had no ill effects from hypothermia. I have heard from many people, “Wow, were you lucky!” And that could be the end of the story. But I know it wasn’t luck.

Being new here, I want to introduce myself by saying I was raised in Joliet, IL, where I was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church. I have always believed in the Trinity, and we all know that Jesus has a soft spot in his heart for fishermen.

Some of my friends have heard the half-hour version, but as I tell the story to you, I want to focus on two points. How did I get there and fall in? How did Billy Miller, the off-duty fireman, “happen” to be there to rescue me?

This was my fourth time fishing in Diversey Harbor, but it was the first time I was alone without my wife Julie. I thought about going to a new place, Montrose Harbor, where I heard big perch were being caught. But it was late in the day, so I changed my mind and went to Diversey.

It was cold and the wind was blowing off-shore. As any experienced ice-fisherman knows, you have to turn your back to the wind to stay warm. So instead of sitting lengthwise on a pier that was 20 feet long and three feet wide, as I had in the past. On this night, I was sitting on a card table chair crosswise with my back to the shore.

As I attempted to get up, the back two legs slipped off the dock. I fell backwards with chair into the 33 degree water. When I fell in somehow my head did not go under. I yelled, “Help! Help” and swam back to the dock. F-Dock, where I was fishing is the only dock constructed with an open steel frame where I could hold on and keep my head and arms and my feet out of the icy water.

Now we have the fisherman in the water. How did the fireman get there? Across town, Billy Miller had just finished an all-day fire training course and was tired. He called his wife Karen and said he was going home. She, however, was just leaving to get her hair done, so she suggested he go fishing. He arrived at Diversey Harbor about a half hour after I did.

When he came out on the dock, we struck up a conversation for about 15 minutes. Billy told me he usually fishes at Montrose Harbor, but that night something made him change his mind and go to F-Dock. He also told me he was an off-duty fireman.

Another question I am asked is, “Did you catch anything?” Yes, but they were mighty small perch. So Billy decided to try another part of the dock a few slips closer to shore where I couldn’t see him.

I have been asked by many people, “What did you think when you realized you were falling and when you were in that frigid water? Were you scared to death? Did you see your life flash before your eyes? Did you think you were going drown?” The answer is “No.” I was very calm and thought, “Thank God there is a professionally trained fireman here to rescue me.”

Although I called, “Help! Help!” he heard, “Billy! Billy!” He was at the dock ready to grab me as I was reaching for the steel bar. Throughout the nearly 10 minutes that we waited for help to arrive, Billy held on to me, coached me on what to do and kept me talking. I never feared for my life—God’s provision was there.

Last Tuesday Julie and I met with Pastor Johnson. We all agreed that God’s plan for me isn’t finished. Certainly, one reason I am here is that my grandbaby expected later this month needs a Papa. Until another purpose is revealed, I am just going to be grateful, and tell the story with God as the main character. I wasn’t lucky; I was blessed.