#GetWaterWise: Stirling GP rescued in Loch Lomond speaks out to raise awareness of dangers
Chris Hunter was swimming with friends following a paddle boarding lesson when the incident happened.
Last updated 6th Aug 2021
A Stirling GP who nearly drowned in Loch Lomond is speaking to Clyde 1, as part of our #GetWaterWise campaign.
Chris Hunter, who is in his forties, was swimming near to the Duck Bay Hotel with friends on Saturday 31st August following a paddle boarding lesson, when he soon realised he was in trouble.
Speaking to Clyde 1, Chris said: "We'd been out paddle boarding, the paddle boarding activity had finished, we went out for a swim afterwards.
"I couldn't shout, I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything."
"Thinking nothing of it, we had wetsuits and gear on so thought everything was okay, I got as far as the buoy and ran into trouble very quickly.
"It took about 5-10 seconds for things to get out of control, I couldn't breathe, things were getting constricted very fast.
"I didn't really manage to do much in the way of paddling - it was literally staying afloat and trying to stay alive.
"The rest of the time was measured in five-second intervals.
"I couldn't shout, I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything.
"Thankfully, someone shouted over to see if I was okay - and all I could do was shake my head."
Lisa Casey, a physio in Forth Valley, was the one who noticed Chris was in trouble and needed urgent help.
"All I could see was his head bobbing, at that point I was like 'he's drowning'."
Lisa said: "Chris decided to go off to the buoy - by this point the remaining of the team was coming towards us.
"At that point I just looked up and he was isolated and I looked square at him and shouted 'Chris, are you okay?' - and he couldn't gesticulate, and the fact he couldn't gesticulate and he couldn't verbalise anything - and all I could see was his head bobbing, at that point I was like 'he's drowning'.
"I knew what was happening, but it was eerily quiet.
"When I said 'Chris, you okay?' - he just looked at me straight down the line.
"It wasn't a big dramatic shake - it was a miniscule movement in the wrong direction so I knew we needed to get him, because I knew we had a minute or so before either he aspirates and takes in too much water, or he goes under and it's going to be a very different rescue."
Once Chris was pulled out of the water, the paramedics arrived shortly after.
"The cold water shock hit very quickly - it felt like lots of cold needles all around the chest"
Chris said: "It all happened very quickly.
"From the buoy to needing rescued was less than 30 seconds.
"I had been swimming fine - not any problems.
"The cold water shock hit very quickly - it felt like lots of cold needles all around the chest which constricted every time I took a breath in until I couldn't breathe anymore."
Chris says he owes everything to Lisa and others who were there that day to rescue him.
He said: "I'm grateful - 30 seconds is all it took from being upright swimming with no problems - to being on the brink of death, not able to do anything.
"I'm grateful to be able to talk about it, I'm grateful to be able to tell people what happens so it doesn't happen again.
"The skills of these ladies here and the team I had with me, are the only reason I am here."
Jennifer Jamieson, company director of Excelsior Adventures, which Chris had just finished a paddle boarding session with before the incident, is telling Clyde 1 what needs to change to prevent more accidental drownings.
"30 seconds is all it took from being upright swimming with no problems - to being on the brink of death"
Jennifer said: "A lot of people think when somebody's drowning - they're waving their arms in the air, they're screaming, they're shouting for help, they're making it known that they need help.
"As shown here though - that's not what drowning looks like.
"When you have such a huge body of water like Loch Lomond where, every year somebody is dying, something needs to be done.
"I know conversations are going on, but those conversations can't last forever - they need to do something.
"Having supervision at places like Balloch - especially Balloch - that is one of the danger points.
"Signage is great, but we need more campaigns.
"We need more education in the schools - especially focussing on somewhere like Loch Lomond, it's so easy to access, yet so dangerous."
Lisa said: "Knowing what drowning looks like - but that's not sufficient.
"You need to know what it looks like and what to do.
"Fundamental training at grassroots is essential.
"In Australia, it's just a given - that's part of primary curriculum: CPR and water safety."
There is more water safety information on the RNLI website.
Water rescue courses can also be found here.
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