A West Kelowna couple who helped save a Vancouver couple and their three-year-old toddler from drowning in Osoyoos Lake last summer were honoured for their efforts in a special ceremony this past Saturday evening.
The Lifesaving Society of British Columbia honoured Kyle Boudreau and his wife Jacqueline during an awards banquet held in Vancouver.
Kyle was on hand for the ceremony, which saw Premier David Eby hand out numerous life-saving awards over the course of the evening. His wife couldn't attend as she had to stay home and take care of their children.
"It was a bigger event than I thought it would be and it was pretty cool to be a part of it," he said, in a phone call Monday morning.
They found out they had been nominated for recognition by the national society back in October.
Kyle was given a Certificate of Bravery and Silver Medal of Bravery, while his wife received a Certificate of Merit and Silver Medal of Merit for assisting in an aquatic life-saving situation.
"Most of the event involved honouring volunteers who had reached certain milestones in the life-saving community," he said. "Then they sort of made a few of us stars of the show by handing out the life-saving awards.
"It was all handled so well. They had a monologue telling the stories of what happened and photos on the projector providing a re-enactment of what happened that day. It was a pretty big show and nice to be part of. Having the awards handed out by Premier Eby was really cool too."
Kyle said he and his wife don't stay in regular contact with the family they helped save, but they did send each other Christmas cards over the holiday season and do provide occasional updates to each other through e-mail on how things are going in their lives.
The Boudreau's will be recognized again at a similar event being sponsored by the Royal Canadian Humane Association, where they will receive medals of bravery. Those awards will be handed out at a special event in Kelowna on Oct. 24.
The Boudreau's won't let the harrowing experience of what happened on Osoyoos Lake that day stop them from enjoying life as they recently planned their summer vacation in Osoyoos later this summer.
"We're very excited about going back," said Kyle. "We're going to continue enjoying our new boat all summer and we'll obviously take all necessary precautions to remain water aware. After going to this event and hearing so many people talk about water safety and drowning prevention, it really hits home.
"You have to have the right equipment on your boat, lifejackets for everybody and always keeping your eyes peeled for other people who could be in distress."
On the Civic holiday weekend last August, a quiet day at the lake turned into a harrowing ordeal for the Boudreau's, their two boys and family friends who came across a North Vancouver family, including a three-year-old toddler, who were struggling to stay alive on Osoyoos Lake.
On the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 4, Kyle and Jacqueline were enjoying a day on the lake with their friends Derek and Erin Martin and their three young kids.
They had spent the day swimming and boating when the wind started howling and they decided it was time to head back to shore.
They had spent a fun day on the lake in a new boat they had just purchased, when the wind suddenly picked up dramatically and they decided to head back to shore.
Things quickly turned scary when Jacqueline noticed two adults and a child were in the water and drifting away from their boat.
"I told Kyle and everyone on board that they need help.”
Kyle, 39 quickly realized these three strangers were in trouble.
“It was very clear there were people in distress and there was a family separated from their boat,” he said. “The wind was blowing one way and the current was going the other way and they were moving further away from their boat. I assumed they had gone for a swim and somehow got separated from their boat.”
They started moving their boat towards them.
He saw a man and woman were not wearing lifejackets, but the three-year-old girl was, said Jacqueline, 33.
“The little girl was in the middle and the wife was in big trouble as it was clear she was close to drowning,” she said. “Her head kept dropping under the water and her hands were just above the water and she was flailing.”
The husband was screaming to help his wife, so Kyle decided he had no choice but to take action.
“He was screaming ‘save my wife, she’s drowning’,” said Kyle. “I signaled to my wife to get me as close as she could. I dove in and was able to get to her pretty quickly. I got beside her and grabbed her right arm. She wasn’t holding on to me. That’s when I realized just how frail she was. I turned over onto my back and placed her on my chest and made sure her head was above water and got her back to the boat.
“At the same time, my buddy Derek Martin jumped in the water and grabbed the little girl. The husband then linked up with Derek and the baby and we managed to get them back to the boat. It was a pretty frightening scenario. I don’t think any of us thought she had more than 20 or 30 seconds of fighting left in her.”
It took the woman more than 15 minutes to fully come around and realize she was safe and her little girl and husband had also been rescued, he said.
“She was looking around and trying to process everything,” he said. “She was so close to drowning and was absolutely in shock.”
Boudreau said the fact he was a competitive swimmer growing up definitely played a major role in the rescue.
“I belonged to a couple of swim teams in South Surrey and White Rock,” he said. “Even my Dad, when I got home, said good thing we put you in the Sea Wolves program. It really paid off this time.”
After dropping them off at their hotel, Kyle said goodbye, but decided to return later in the day.
“I needed some closure,” he said. “I drove back to their hotel … told the people at the front desk what had happened.”
He called them and was invited up to their room.
“They were all lying in bed and much calmer and just trying relax and absorb all the emotions and trauma of what had happened,” he said. “I got a couple of hugs and handshakes and they wanted to exchange information. I gave them my name and told them I was just super happy to help.”
Kyle runs a business in Vancouver and received a gift basket and heartfelt note from the family.
The note read: “Dear Kyle Boudreau and Family: Thank you for saving my life. Your timing and rescue brought us to safety in our most dire moment ever and we are so so very grateful to you and your family. You are forever in our hearts as our hero and we are thankful of God’s divine timing of your appearance in our lives. Just a small token included here to send our love and gratitude your way. Thank you once again.”
While many people are going to call him and his wife and friends heroes, Kyle said they just consider themselves lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.
“We feel so fortunate, lucky and privileged to have been able to help,” he said. “I told them they didn’t have to thank us. We were just lucky to help.
“It absolutely, 100 per cent feels really great to have helped save their lives. It’s something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. But I’m not looking to be called a hero at all, because it boils down to being there at the right moment and having the ability to know that I am a strong enough swimmer to take this on.”
Jacqueline feels the same way.
“I was the lucky one to first see them,” she said. “If I turned the other way, we might not have been able to help and things could have turned out much differently.”
