A family vacation outing in late July on Table Rock Lake changed the lives of a woman and a man she had never met.
As reported by the Branson Tri-Lakes News on July 24, at 4:55 p.m. Glenn Trust, a Highlandville man was airlifted to Cox South Hospital in Springfield after he jumped from a boat into the lake and did not resurface for some time. The details of the incident show the power of heroism and kindness from a stranger. Britanni Gilmore of Kansas was on the lake with her family, when they noticed a boat with passengers in distress.
“We were on vacation and decided it was time to head back to our dock,” Gilmore told Branson Tri-Lakes News. “While making our way back towards our dock, my sister-in-law noticed that a boat was stopped in the middle of the water, and it looked as if a man was in trouble. Once we knew they needed help, I quickly jumped in the water and assessed the situation upon looking and what the people on the boat were telling me had happened.”
Gilmore said she could visibly see the man was in need of CPR.
“After seeing the man’s face (which was completely purple) and I realized that he was completely unresponsive with no pulse, my first thought was to get him horizontal (in the water) to start chest compressions,” Gilmore explained. “The other patrons on their boat told me he had dove in the water, so I made my husband join us to help hold his head/neck in the event that he would have hit anything in the water. While having the others help hold the man’s body on top of the water while I performed CPR. After getting him horizontal, I performed close to one round of chest compressions and noticed that his color was coming back in his face.”
While Gilmore, with the assistance of others who held the man above water, did CPR on Trust, 911 was called.
“With his color coming back, I decided to check his pulse and it was at that time that the man started to breathe on his own,” Gilmore said. “One of the patrons on the boat was on the phone with 911, so the 911 operator and myself worked together to track his breathing to make sure that his breathing was adequate.”
Gilmore said after Trust began breathing on his own, she continued to stay next to him to make sure he was still breathing.
“I continued to monitor the man and stayed in the water trying to keep everyone as calm as possible until the medics arrived with a body board and took over the situation,” Gilmore said. “I stayed until the first responders were on the scene and took over.”
Gilmore said her job as a registered dental hygienist requires her to not only learn CPR, but to renew her training.
“I am required to stay up to date and renew CPR every two years. I have been in the field for 11 1/2 years, so I have received numerous training courses for CPR, which not only taught me how to perform CPR,” Gilmore said. “It also taught me how to assess emergency situations but how to calm everyone at the scene until first responders are there to take over.”
Gilmore said she believes divine intervention placed her in the right place and at the right time.
“The whole thing is still so surreal and I’m still not really sure how to feel about it,” Gilmore said. “Honestly, as a Christian I know that I was placed at that location during that exact time because of the trained skills I possess and my ability to handle emergency situations well (as I tell my husband, my bossy personality certainly helps to give orders during emergency situations, ha!).”
Receiving CPR training and learning what to do in emergency situations is valuable, Gilmore stated.
“This situation stressed to me, and it will hopefully stress to others, the importance of being CPR certified,” Gilmore said. “Whether or not you actually have to utilize CPR, it gives you the skills to know what calls to make and how to assess emergency situations until first responders are on the scene. You will never regret having the skills to try to save a life but you will regret not having the skills that could have saved a life.”
Gilmore said Trust reached out to her to express his gratitude to her for acting quickly and saving his life.
“Glenn has actually reached out to me via social media to extend his love and gratitude,” Gilmore said. “As I said in my message back to him, I was so grateful he reached out simply so I knew that he was well and had made a full recovery. We hope to meet up in the future.”
To learn more about CPR classes in the area contact the Ambulance Districts and Health Departments in Stone and Taney counties.