Swimming Again

I did it! Approximately 6 weeks after my foot surgery, I was back at the Y pool for lap swimming. Even though it was only 20 laps, even though my foot felt funny, even though I swam quite gingerly (which most definitely isn't easy to do), it felt wonderful. That, in itself, was a big relief for me. You see, I was nervous about getting back into the pool for two reasons - the obvious one being because I didn't know how my foot would do and I wasn't up for being disappointed in my progress.

The second reason might seem rather odd to some of you - but I seriously did worry about it. It's just that a few weeks ago a lap swimmer died right in the pool while doing his laps. His day more than likely started like all of ours - a little slow, maybe wishing he had time for that second cup of coffee before heading to the Y for swimming, but overall just a normal day. He gets to the Y, checks in and grabs a towel. Once in the pool area he tells the lifeguard good morning, smiles at the swimmer resting up in the lane next to him, slides into the pool, adjusts his goggles and starts off on his warm up laps. At some point in the next 15 minutes things go from being normal to tragic. As he's in the deep end of the pool ready to make his turn he realizes something isn't right - he heads over to the side, trying to pull himself up and out of the water but it's too late. He falls back into the water and sinks. The lifeguard jumps in, three other lap swimmers head over to help and they all get him to the shallow end and out of the pool. But he's already bluish purple, already gone. Even so, the lifeguard starts CPR as others get the defibrillator machine ready. The pool empties, swimmers cry and hug, and the ambulance comes to take him to the hospital to pronounce him dead.

That man died in the pool - not from drowning, but from a heart attack. I don't know his name, I don't know his family but I haven't been able to stop thinking about him. As I recuperated at home, I guiltily felt so very thankful I wasn't at that particular lap swim. I wondered who it was - was it the red speedo guy? The swimmer/walker dude? The kickboard/flipper guy? or the Tshirt man? I know the names of none of these men but I still know them. I know who wears what swimsuit and what his lane of choice is. I know who is good at flip turns and I know who likes to have a silent underwater race with me. I know them each - as a fellow lap swimmer.

I wondered what it would be like to swim in the same pool, possibly even the same lane, touch the same side of the wall as he did as he tried to hoist his body out. Is his spirit still there? It was with me yesterday, as I'm sure it is with all the swimmers who know. It wasn't with me the whole time, not even most of the time, but as I silently slid through the water I remembered him and wished his family well.