Rio Cundiff was sitting on the phone with his aunt on a bench near Chicago’s Belmont Harbor on February 18 when he looked up and saw a woman screaming and chasing a baby stroller as it was blown by the wind and tumbled toward the water.
The National Weather Service warned of sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. A stroller carrying an 8-month-old baby girl fell into the lake due to strong winds.
As the baby’s mother stood in shock, Cundiff, a 31-year-old transgender man from Chicago who works as a server at a local restaurant, Oak and Honey, jumped into the lake and swam to his stroller, even though he didn’t know how to swim. He struggled to keep the toddler from slipping under the water.
“My only words were, ‘We’ve got to get this baby out of here.’ If she’s down, I’m down with her, but the goal is to get us both back up,” Cundiff said. chicago tribune.
He tumbled for about four minutes, and he and the baby were briefly submerged under the water. The water temperature in the lake was in the mid 30s.
“We got under water a few times,” he told the Chicago CBS affiliate. WBBM-TV. “At one point I was like, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can hold out.’ So I kind of grabbed it.” [the baby’s] I just held her hand and rubbed her hand a little. ”
Eventually, another man threw down his jacket and let Cundiff hold onto it until he found a life preserver. The man and the infant’s mother then helped pull Cundiff and the infant onto dry land.
Separate ambulances took Cundiff and the baby to the hospital.
The infant was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital for observation and was reported to be in good condition. Cundiff was hospitalized overnight at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where doctors monitored his heart after his enzyme levels spiked to more than 13 times the normal range due to exercise, adrenaline and cold exposure. His levels then stabilized and he was released.
Cundiff said. guardian The baby’s family later contacted them and said the baby was doing well.
Cundiff, who also performs in stand-up comedy on the local circuit, said he was recovering well, although he joked about his medical bills adding up “boom, boom, boom.” His girlfriend started the gofundme It has since raised more than $70,000 on February 20th. Proceeds will be used to cover his hospital expenses and compensate for lost wages during his recovery.
Cundiff hit back at online commenters who accused the baby’s mother of being careless or negligent.
“When you almost lose a child like that, you don’t need public judgment, especially when it wasn’t intentional,” Cundiff told the Tribune. “There was no negligence involved. It was just an accident.”
the 31 year old said guardian That his decision to rescue the infant was rooted in simple humanity.
“Everything I’ve done is a human act,” he said. “I’m just a man who did the most human thing a man could do: save someone who couldn’t save himself.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
