Post by IAMCAPER on Sept 5, 2007 8:50:24 GMT -4
Fourteen-year-old Mason Groves’s quick action averted what could have been a tragic end to summer vacation for a Sydney Mines family.
Groves was mowing grass for a friend of his grandfather’s earlier in the week, when a couple of youngsters came running over the cliffs at Black Point in Sydney Mines calling for help.
“They were yelling for help and for wire cutters,” Groves said. “I got some cutters and we took off over the rocks.”
A group of five friends were jumping off Perch Rock into the water when 12-year-old Brett Groves (no relation to Mason) got his foot stuck in an old lobster trap.
“The water was over his head so his friends had to hold him up so he wouldn’t go under,” Mason said. “They got him as close to the rocks as they could, but it was still over his head and his foot was tangled in the trap, so he couldn’t move.”
Mason Groves, an experienced scuba diver, dove under the water and cut the trap, leaving the wire portion still in the youngster’s foot.
“I didn’t want to take the chance of removing it myself. I figured the doctors would get it out easier and it would be less painful.”
Mason ran back to his grandfather’s place, got his truck and drove it to the edge of the cliff.
“Someone had called 911 and I knew an ambulance wouldn’t be able to get down close to the point. I really didn’t think about it, I just did it. I knew my grandfather wouldn’t mind,” he said.
Once Brett was out of the water, Mason, along with Gary Fraser and Jeff Power, carried him up over the rugged cliffs, put him in the back of the truck and drove to meet the ambulance.
The doctors removed the wire, bandaged his foot, gave him a tetanus shot and sent Brett home with orders not to go in the water for a few days.
“It was pretty scary,” Brett said. “My friends stayed with me during the whole thing, they were great.”
Perch Rock is a popular swimming spot for locals because the water is deep and ideal for diving off the cliff.
“There was a few times when I went swimming at Perch Rock alone, but I’ll never do that again,” Mason said. “It all happened so fast, I didn’t have time to feel anything. When I got home and it finally hit me, I got sick to my stomach thinking about what could have happened and that he could have drowned.”
Saving lives runs in the Groves’ family.
Mason’s father, Jody Groves, helped save two men in 2001 in Dunvegan, N.S., in a water rescue.
The water had about three-metre waves that day and two men had drifted out along a beach. The elder Groves went out in rough seas with a tractor tire tube, while his wife and three sons watched from the beach.
“We’re proud of Mason,” said his mother, Tracy Groves. “The lesson here is to have respect for the ocean and to always swim with friends.”
Groves was mowing grass for a friend of his grandfather’s earlier in the week, when a couple of youngsters came running over the cliffs at Black Point in Sydney Mines calling for help.
“They were yelling for help and for wire cutters,” Groves said. “I got some cutters and we took off over the rocks.”
A group of five friends were jumping off Perch Rock into the water when 12-year-old Brett Groves (no relation to Mason) got his foot stuck in an old lobster trap.
“The water was over his head so his friends had to hold him up so he wouldn’t go under,” Mason said. “They got him as close to the rocks as they could, but it was still over his head and his foot was tangled in the trap, so he couldn’t move.”
Mason Groves, an experienced scuba diver, dove under the water and cut the trap, leaving the wire portion still in the youngster’s foot.
“I didn’t want to take the chance of removing it myself. I figured the doctors would get it out easier and it would be less painful.”
Mason ran back to his grandfather’s place, got his truck and drove it to the edge of the cliff.
“Someone had called 911 and I knew an ambulance wouldn’t be able to get down close to the point. I really didn’t think about it, I just did it. I knew my grandfather wouldn’t mind,” he said.
Once Brett was out of the water, Mason, along with Gary Fraser and Jeff Power, carried him up over the rugged cliffs, put him in the back of the truck and drove to meet the ambulance.
The doctors removed the wire, bandaged his foot, gave him a tetanus shot and sent Brett home with orders not to go in the water for a few days.
“It was pretty scary,” Brett said. “My friends stayed with me during the whole thing, they were great.”
Perch Rock is a popular swimming spot for locals because the water is deep and ideal for diving off the cliff.
“There was a few times when I went swimming at Perch Rock alone, but I’ll never do that again,” Mason said. “It all happened so fast, I didn’t have time to feel anything. When I got home and it finally hit me, I got sick to my stomach thinking about what could have happened and that he could have drowned.”
Saving lives runs in the Groves’ family.
Mason’s father, Jody Groves, helped save two men in 2001 in Dunvegan, N.S., in a water rescue.
The water had about three-metre waves that day and two men had drifted out along a beach. The elder Groves went out in rough seas with a tractor tire tube, while his wife and three sons watched from the beach.
“We’re proud of Mason,” said his mother, Tracy Groves. “The lesson here is to have respect for the ocean and to always swim with friends.”
