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December 29, 2004
Jillian's Choice
From The Australian :
An Australian woman was forced to let go of one of her children to save another when a wall of water struck their Thai holiday destination.

Jillian Searle, of Perth, was near her Phuket hotel pool with sons Lachie, five, and Blake, two, when the tsunami hit on Sunday.

Her husband Brad watched the calamity unfold from the vantage point of his first-floor room.

Ms Searle was faced with a terrible choice as she fought to stay alive amid the raging waters.

"I knew I had to let go of one of them and I just thought I'd better let go of the one that's the oldest," she told Sky News.

"A lady grabbed hold of him for a moment but she had to let him go because she was going under.

"And I was screaming, trying to find him, and we thought he was dead."

Sky News said Lachie was found safe two hours later after surviving the raging torrent by clinging to a door.

Posted by Alan Brain at December 29, 2004 10:04 AM | TrackBack
Comments

Heroism and "coolness under fire", making impossibly difficult decisions quickly is not just confined to the military.
Ms Searle evaluated the options, and picked the one that maximised chances of survival of her kids - in the most terrible of circumstances, and with little time to think.

She's Australian.

Posted by: aebrain [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 29, 2004 10:41 AM

This kid will definitely be one to keep in prayer. At five years old, all he can probably think is that "Mommy let go of me." He's gonna need lots of therapy

Posted by: gus3 [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 29, 2004 10:50 PM

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