God does answer prayers The irony is that Bailey Barnes readily admits he isnt much of a swimmer. His lifelong friend, Coleman Maness, has been working as a lifeguard this summer.But during a Caribbean vacation with their families last week, it was Coleman, 16, who was knocked unconscious during a jet ski accident. Bailey, 18, and a 2009 South Aiken High School graduate, used CPR to resuscitate his friend. He needed another 15 frantic minutes before he could catch the attention of a man in a dingy to bring them back to shore.Incredibly, Maness - a Wando High School junior from Mt. Pleasant - was face down in the water for as long as 10 minutes before Bailey found him. Coleman spent three days in a hospital and is now back home.Hes doing fine, and thats great, said Bailey. I was trying to shrug it off right afterwards, but that night I was really a mess.The parents, Allison and Joe Barnes and Kim and David Maness, go way back. Way, way back. Allison and David grew up other together in Lancaster and were best buds from the age of 6.When Joe Barnes moved to the community as a young teenager, he immediately became close friends with David Maness - and fell madly in love with Allison.Kim met David Maness during college and was quickly accepted by Allison and Joe.The friendship between the couples has endured ever since. They started going on vacations together every summer, and as time passed, their kids joined them, too. The Barneses have a daughter, Lindsey, a college junior, while the Manesses have a daughter, Megan, whos the same age.Although hes two years older than Coleman, Bailey has never used that chronology thing to his own advantage. Theyre just good pals, and each happily hangs out with the others friends when they visit each other.Coleman is fairly mature for his age, and Im fairly immature for my age, Bailey said with a laugh.The families usually take their vacations in Aruba. This year Bailey suggested St. Martin, about 200 miles from Puerto Rico. The island is divided into two nations, one half of it French and the other is part of the Netherlands Antilles.They were staying on the Dutch side of the island and were having another enjoyable, conventional vacation, said Allison. The families had heard about some nice beaches on the French side and on Wednesday, July 15, they rented a van to take a look.After their arrival, the dads decided to take a walk on the beach. Mothers and daughters settled down for some sun and a chat. Bailey and Coleman got approval to rent some jet skis, which they had done on previous trips.The water was choppy and the teens didnt stay close together so as to ensure they didnt collide with each other. At one point, Coleman lost the key to his jet ski. Bailey came in to tell a jet ski operator, who brought Coleman another key.Allison and Kim were trying to keep an eye on the boys, but they were rather far off shore. Bailey had gone back in the water, but couldnt find his friend. He came back to the beach, assuming Coleman was already there as their rental time was nearly up.I went back out to look for him, Bailey said. I finally saw his jet ski and he wasnt on it. Then I saw Coleman about 20 feet away, face down in the water.Coleman had a life vest on, but its not the type that sits one straight up. Physicians later diagnosed a concussion, suggesting he might have hit his head on the jet ski.I didnt know CPR, Bailey said. I knew you just breathe into the mouth. I figured it couldnt be that hard.To Baileys overwhelming relief, Coleman did begin to breathe with a raspy wheeze. In the movies, the person expels water and seems to recover instantly. That didnt happen last week. Coleman was still unconscious and they were anywhere from a quarter-mile to a half-mile off shore.Bailey readily admits he began to get seriously alarmed. Both jet skis had drifted away and he was getting fatigued. He screamed to try to get the attention of passing jet skiers, but they didnt hear him or see the boys. After about 15 minutes, the guy in the dingy approached them and brought the teenagers to shore.Allison and Kim saw the boys approach the shore and, of course, panicked when they discovered Coleman was lying in the bottom of the boat.Bailey was crying and I realized this was really bad, said Kim. I didnt want to go over there and look, and my knees were about ready to give out. The only saving grace was that the man in the boat said he was breathing, and I ran out there.The guys from the jet ski place pulled Coleman off and put him a chair, said Allison. I said lets turn him over and blood started coming out of his mouth and nose. He wasnt coming around at all.A doctor was found on the beach. He rushed over to help and confirmed Coleman needed to get all the water out of his lungs. Within 30 minutes, an ambulance arrived to transport Coleman.As it happened, the hospital in the area had a specialist in mountain and underwater resuscitation. He provided extensive oxygen therapy, acknowledging he was concerned about possible brain damage. By Friday, Coleman was coherent and was cleared to fly home the next day. David and Kim took him to a physician for tests, including a neurological exam and everything checked out.Kim and Allison said their sons are just great kids. At the Maness home in Mt. Pleasant, people have been bringing food and everybody wants to put their arms around Coleman.As for Bailey, Kim Maness said gratefully, I told him whenever he wants a home-cooked meal, just come on over.Hell have that option a lot the next four years, because hes headed to the College of Charleston next month. Interestingly, Bailey plans to become a doctor, perhaps a general surgeon. Meanwhile, hes downplaying his heroic efforts.My first save, Bailey said. I talked to a scuba diver, who said that once someones face hits the water, theres a 20 percent chance of survival. So Colemans pretty lucky. If I ever get in that situation, he owes me.Coleman, for now, is taking it easy, although he did go down to the beach for a while with friends Wednesday.I told him not to go into the water, his mom said.Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard. . Comments { 0 } Read more: Aiken teen saves his friends life | Aiken Standard Follow us: @aikenstandard on Twitter | aikenstandard on Facebook
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 03:21:16 +0000
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