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It was already sweltering on Bondi beach at 11:15 am and it was going to get hotter. It was a busy Saturday and unfortunately for the lifeguards the waves were big with dangerous rips. Six lifeguards were on duty to deal with the conditions.
Hoppo and Harries were in the tower, Jesse at north, Reidy near the flags, Kerrbox at backpackers and Maxi just a way up from backpackers. All of them were focused on the water, a few rescues had already been conducted but mainly up north. Now there was trouble down south.
Kerrbox had spotted a swimmer in trouble and had darted out to get them. Maxi was watching him but a yell from the water caught his attention. A woman and a child were struggling to stay a float and were getting battered by the massive waves. The woman waves frantically and yelled out for help. Quickly, Maxi threw off his shirt and grabbed his board. As he ran in, Kerrbox was now back on the beach talking to the man he rescued who was thanking him many times. Maxi paddled out as fast as he could but it was a struggle. The waves crashed down and he nearly lost sight of them. Finally he reached them and he grabbed the child to get her onto the board. He yelled at the woman to get on quickly. A big wave was looming and he had to get them both on before it reached them.
The woman found it hard to get onto the rescue board as she was tired. Maxi had the board facing towards the waves so he could see them coming. He gulped as he knew he was in deep trouble. He grabbed onto the board and braced for impact. The wave crashed over them and sent the board flying into the air. Maxi and the girl fell into the water. The woman grabbed the girl’s arm so she wouldn’t lose her. Maxi had gone under the water and as he came back up the 10 kilo rescue board hit him in the back of the head and neck, sending him under. He had barely taken a breath before plunging under the water.
Miraculously, the woman and girl had been swept inwards and onto a sandbank. Maxi meanwhile wasn’t so lucky. After getting hit, he was sent back under the water and he also managed to swallow some. He flailed around, trying desperately to surface but pain shot through his body. He hoped that one of his fellow lifeguards had noticed he was struggling and were on their way. He managed to get his head above water to breathe. His board had been swept away. Panic set in quickly. He could barely stay a float or stay conscious at this point. His vision blurred as he tried to tread water on his back but his neck and upper spine hurt.
On the beach, Kerrbox was in the process of putting his shirt back on when he happened to glance over at the water and see a stray rescue board wash up. He looked further out and spotted Maxi barely above water. He threw off his shirt again and sprinted to pick up the stray board and headed out to reach Maxi. By this point, Hoppo was on the radio to the other lifeguards on the beach, telling Reidy to get to south end as fast as he could. Hoppo had noticed something wasn’t right with Maxi when he didn’t attempt to swim back in.
Kerrbox had reached Maxi who was beginning to go under. He jumped off his board to stop the lad from going under. He managed to drag Maxi onto the board and get himself on there.
“Maxi, mate can you here me? Maxi... shit!” Kerrbox wasted no time getting them back in. Maxi was unconscious.
Reidy was waiting at the water’s edge and as soon as Kerrbox came in, he helped carry the board onto dry sand. He grabbed his radio.
“We need the spinal board down here and oxy. Also call an ambo, he’s unconscious” Reidy barked down the line.
Hoppo rushed to grab the equipment and raced down to tend to his injured mate. They put the oxygen mask on Maxi and did the spinal procedure. The ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance.
Maxi let out a sigh as he returned to consciousness. He immediately was aware of the pain in his back and neck and that he was possibly on a spinal board. He let out a groan of pain which caught the attention of the three lifeguards around him.
“It’s alright mate, just relax. Ambulance is almost here” Kerrbox’s voice seemed distant to Maxi. He blinked his eyes open to see 3 blurry figures.
“Does it hurt anywhere, Maxi” Hoppo said in a firm yet concerned voice.
“My neck... an’ upper back” Maxi slurred, his voice slightly muffled by the oxygen mask.
Hoppo exchanged glances with Kerrbox and Reidy.
“What happened, mate?” Hoppo questioned.
“Board... on head. Think... swallowed water”
Kerrbox put a comforting hand on his arm. The paramedics arrived and Hoppo filled them in on what happened. Maxi was taken way for test and scans. The other lifeguards on duty now knew what happened and they were all worried for the young member of the team. Several more rescues were made that day and everyone was glad when pack up time came around. Hoppo had tried to call the hospital to see how Maxi was but they wouldn’t say anything as he wasn’t family. All the lifeguards could do was wait.
The next day came around and no one had heard anything about Maxi, not even Jesse who was really good mates with him. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, somewhat overcast. Hoppo was in his office, Kerrbox in the tower and Jesse and Harries on the beach. Kerrbox was watching the water through his binoculars when his mobile phone rang. He rumbled around him his pocket with one hand trying to get the phone out while still watching the water. He glanced at the caller ID and it said Maxi. Without hesitation he answered.
“Hello? Maxi mate this you?”
“Yeah it’s me” Maxi’s voice was quite, almost a whisper.
“How are you, what did the doctors say?” Kerrbox waited nervously for a reply.
“Just a concussion. Nothing broken luckily. Bit of bruising on my back and neck from where the board hit me”
“That’s great news, I’ll tell the boys later. You home now?”
“Yeah I am... c-can I ask you a favour Box?” Maxi’s voice shook.
Kerrbox noticed the shake in the lad’s voice and grew concerned “Of course mate, what is it?”
“Could you um come over, after work I mean of course, if it’s no trouble?”
Kerrbox knew that Maxi trusted him a great amount and that he would talk to him if anything bothered him “Maxi, it’s no trouble at all. Of course I’ll come over, 7:30 alright?”
“Yeah good. I’ll see you then. Thanks, bye mate” Maxi ended the call before Kerrbox could say goodbye.
Kerrbox put his mobile down and picked up his radio “All of the boys, just had a call from Maxi. He’s fine, back and neck fine, just a concussion, over”
Hoppo smiled to himself, he was glad Maxi was ok. So was everyone else when they heard the radio call.
That evening, after all the equipment had been packed away, Kerrbox had made his way to Maxi’s apartment and was waiting for him to answer. Soon enough, Maxi answered the door and let him in. They both sat down on the sofa with a drink.
“Thanks for coming over” Maxi started.
“It’s no problem, mate” Kerrbox took a sip of his beer “You wanna talk about it?”
“I’m such an idiot, getting myself hurt”
“Kerrbox let out a snort “It’s not your fault, you can’t control the ocean. The important thing is that you are alright”
Maxi stared at his bottle of beer, not wanting to make eye contact with Kerrbox. Some lifeguard he was, getting himself into trouble. No to mention those two people he was meant to be rescuing. They could have drowned, he could have drowned. Maxi was brought out of his thoughts by Kerrbox placing a hand on his shoulder. Maxi looked up at the older man as he placed his beer down.
“I’m a pathetic excuse of a lifeguard” he said, tears forming in his eyes.
“To hell with that statement, Maxi. You are an amazing lifeguard. Conditions today were tough...”
“Only I can get myself to nearly drown” Maxi cut Kerrbox off. He let out a small chuckle as tears ran down his cheeks.
Kerrbox pulled the kid into a hug which made Maxi lose it. He couldn’t stop the tears or sobs from coming. Kerrbox held him tight, scared that he could fall into a million pieces if he let go. After a few minutes, Maxi’s cries died down and he pulled away to wipe his face.
“I’m sorry for being such a screw up” Maxi hiccuped.
Kerrbox shook his head “You are not a screw up, mate. You don’t need to be sorry for anything. You need to start believing in yourself. You are one amazing lifeguard and we are glad to have you”
Maxi smiled “Thank you” he whispered.
They both went back to drinking their beers, Kerrbox with his arm around his mate, enjoying the sun go down.