Woman: Lifeguards saved daughter

HAENA — County lifeguards at Ke‘e Beach are praised for saving a life.

Karen Nagamura said there is no doubt her daughter is still alive due to the efforts of lifeguards during their visit to Kauai.

“I want to let the Ke‘e Beach lifeguards know how unbelievably grateful my family is for saving my daughter’s life when she got caught in a swell and nearly pulled out into the open ocean while swimming at Ke‘e Beach,” she wrote in a note to The Garden Island.

She said everything happened so quickly that no one in her group realized that her daughter was not swimming next to them unit they heard a whistle blowing.

Then, they saw Hikari Oberman rush out to the reef, pull her on his board, and bring her back safely to shore.

“Just as importantly, Hikari kept Theresa calm despite the harrowing situation that was unfolding before everyone’s eyes,” Nagamura wrote.

She said Oberman did not know at the time that her daughter suffers from seizures, and while well-controlled, the stress of the open ocean could have triggered a seizure and left her in trouble, Nagamura wrote.

“We are especially grateful for the lightning-fast reaction time of Hikari Oberman, who realized what was about to happen and rushed into the water to grab my daughter just as she was about to go over the reef,” Nagamura wrote. “If he and the other lifeguards had not been watching the swimmers so closely, no one would have realized what was happening in time to help her.”

Ke‘e Beach and the restored Haena State Park are beautiful, as are so many places on Kauai, Nagamura said.

“As a visitor, I am always amazed at how much care the residents devote to maintaining the beauty of the island. That care is especially evident in how much effort has been devoted to restoring the North Shore and ensuring the ecological health of the other areas of Kauai. Your island home is an amazing place,” she wrote.

Nagamura was grateful to Oberman and the other lifeguards for keeping people safe while visiting paradise.

“I don’t have words enough to express our gratitude for your kindness,” she wrote.