If there was ever any doubt about the difference rescuers make to lives of those they save, look no further than the remarkable story of a Ladysmith woman who is looking on the world with fresh perspective after being saved from ending her own.
Mya DeRyan was pulled from the waters off Bowen Island by a volunteer West Vancouver Coast Guard auxiliary crew on the night of Oct. 30, after the official search had already been called off.
Believing she had a terminal illness, and feeling hopeless, DeRyan made a desperate move that day and jumped from a ferry partway through its crossing.
The end of October isn’t a time when many people would survive five hours in the water.
But fate, the will to live and the dedicated crew of West Van’s Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue intervened. Tasked with picking up life preservers, they discovered DeRyan clinging to one.
She has credited her rescuers’ humanity for bringing her back – both literally and figuratively.
That’s something to keep in mind amid occasional suggestions that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with those who want to harm themselves or make ill-considered decisions. (Comments made when police close the Lions Gate Bridge or mountain rescuers search for out-of-bounds skiers come to mind.)
Everyone has moments of despair and recklessness. That doesn’t mean those states will be permanent.
Those who work with mental illness know this. Most people saved from suicide go on to live fulfilling lives.
We therefore salute those who provide an example of our best impulses – our volunteer and rescue teams and our first responders who continue to reach out with compassion, sometimes against the odds, with the hope of offering a hand out of the darkness.
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