Grateful to be alive

LIHUE — It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.

And for the honeymooning couple, it was, just not exactly as they envisioned before they set off from Texas for the Garden Isle.

Now, a near-death experience in the ocean has only intensified their love for one another, as well as for the people of Kauai who saved their lives, the couple said.

“I was terrified,” said Chris Yan, 31, recounting the panicked moment when he and his wife, Anji Huang, were pulled under water while swimming at Kealia Beach on Christmas Eve before being rescued by some fast-acting locals. “Everything happened so quickly and we were pulled in too deep before we realized what was going on and I was feeling that this might be how it ended for both of us.”

Yan, 31, a third-year medical student living in San Antonio, and Huang, 28, who works in the oil and gas pipeline industry in Houston, had just arrived in Lihue on Christmas Eve day. The two were driving and stopping at sites when they decided to swim at the Eastside beach.

After taking photos, the two went into shoulder-deep water when the current pulled them to where they could not make their way back to shore, Yan said. People were waving from shore as they struggled and yelled for help.

Yan said he panicked as his wife did not respond to his calls and appeared to be floating face down. Overcome with exhaustion, Yan said he began calling out to God as he was swept under the water. But then a big wave swept him toward shore and he could feel his feet touch sand again. As people swam toward the couple from the beach, Yan learned later that someone named Billy brought him a floatation device and then went to help bring in his drowning wife.

Lifeguards and good Samaritans helped the two to shore. Yan recalls that his limbs were heavy and he was going to pass out. He remembers getting oxygen and that someone finally told him that people were working on his wife.

“I do not remember much after that,” Yan said.

Huang was unconscious and not breathing when Kaipo Jacquias, a lifeguard with the Kauai Water Safety Task Force, started CPR on the beach. Yan said he was told Huang began coughing up water and breathing right away, which is a good sign against permanent damage.

Eugene Ancheta was the supervising lifeguard on the beach that day, along with lifeguard Dustin Koga and Kaipo Jaquias of the county Ocean Safety Bureau. Firefighters arrived soon after and assisted lifeguards until medics transported them to Wilcox Memorial Hospital.

The lifeguards couldn’t be reached for comment, but Fire Chief Robert Westerman said he is happy for the newlywed couple as the island sees too many drownings on Kauai. He credited heroes that are made by training and with a desire to save others.

“One thing that resonates in all near drownings and rescues is it takes a human being to intervene,” Westerman said. “Be it an anonymous surfer, local beachgoer like Billy, a junior lifeguard or our own Water Safety officers and firemen.”

Yan was treated and released but stayed at the hospital to be with his wife. After a night on life support an intensive care unit, Huang woke up on her own on Monday and was released later that day.

“I was so relieved when she woke up for the first time,” Yan said.

Tired and coughing, Huang is recovering but is taking antibiotics to help prevent against secondary pneumonia, Yan said. He credits hospital staff and responders for doing a fantastic job.

The hospital staff told them about the number of drownings that occur each year and that the couple was fortunate. There have been 17 drownings on Kauai in 2013. Eleven of them were visitors.

Wilcox Emergency Room physician Monty Downs, met with the couple following his night shift.

“They are a beautiful young couple and they are doing well,” Downs said.

Yan said they feel blessed and consider everyone involved to be their angels. It was not the honeymoon they imagined, but the trip has filled them with love and gratitude for each other and to the people of Kauai.

Yan said the experience is a miracle, a gift from God at the hands of Kauai responders and citizens. He said it is an affirmation that the couple is meant to be together and to have a long and happy marriage.

“We cannot express how thankful we are to you all for what you did that day at Kealia,” Yan said. “You all gave us the greatest gift this Christmas — a second chance at life.”

The couple received flowers in the hospital from Les and Sandi Bidewell, who were on the beach that day. Others have since visited as well.

The couple spent the night at the Sheraton Poipu and flew back to Texas Tuesday.

“We didn’t get to see much of Kauai other than Kealia beach and the hospital,” Yan said. “It was not the honeymoon that we imagined but we are both just thankful to be alive and grateful to have each other.”