A daughter’s quick thinking may have saved her father after a diving accident in a Louisiana river, which left him in a tough spot, according to the authorities.
On June 18, the father-daughter duo was kayaking on the Borg Chitt River near Bogaroosa when 46-year-old Michael Painter faced a near-fatal situation. “I thought I was going to die,” he recalled.
“What can I say? She saved my life. If she hadn’t done what she did, I wouldn’t be here now,” Painter remarked about his 10-year-old daughter, Carson, in an interview.
Painter, who works in the offshore oil industry, explained that Carson loves exploring the river where softshell turtles lay their eggs. She had convinced him to get a kayak, and together they set out to enjoy the day.
“It’s also a great spot to do front flips from the bluff,” he said, reminiscing about the fun they had.
He described his excitement: “Well, I’m about to become a 46-year-old kid. I thought, ‘Look at this!’ I was all set to do a front flip,” he added. But then, at the last moment, he slipped and landed directly on a jagged rock formation beneath the water.
Initially, he thought he could swim to safety. Confusion set in as he realized he was struggling to surface. “The water was just a few feet overhead, but I drifted with the current,” he said. That’s when it hit him—he couldn’t move. Painter had broken his vertebrae and damaged his spine.
Feeling helpless, he couldn’t even keep his arms afloat. “I could see the blood mixing with the water, but honestly, that barely registered. I thought I was paralyzed,” he confessed.
Carson first assumed her dad was just joking around, but when she noticed the blood, panic kicked in. She rushed toward him, tripping on the riverbank before regaining her footing. “I can’t hold my breath any longer. I think this is it,” Painter said, sharing his feeling of impending doom.
Just as he was ready to give up hope, he felt her hand grab him. “She took my hand. That was the biggest relief of my life.” Carson managed to pull his limp body towards a sandbar, despite the weight difference— Painter was 6 feet tall and weighed around 200 pounds while she was only 70.
He tried to calm her down as she cried. “I told her it would be alright, but I really needed her help,” he remembered saying.
He instructed her to paddle to their car, retrieve his keys that were nearby, and then call for help. “It was hard to send my little girl off alone down the river, it felt dangerous—what if something happened to her? But I knew I needed her to save me,” he reflected.
As long as he could hear her paddling, he felt reassured. But when that sound faded, worry crept in. Not long after, a thunderstorm erupted, adding to the chaos. “It was a crazy flood, water everywhere,” he said, recalling how he struggled with the turbulent conditions.
Then, an hour later, he heard the familiar sound of a boat engine, reigniting his hope. Carson had reached the car, called 911, and contacted friends who formed a makeshift rescue team to come get him.
Once the paramedics arrived, Painter was relieved to see Carson again, his heart filled with gratitude. He was fitted with a neck brace as they transported him back to safety.
“Seeing her face for what felt like the last time was gut-wrenching,” he noted.
Though Painter regained mobility, doctors informed him he was close to full paralysis and would need extensive physical therapy. This Saturday, the local Sheriff’s Office is honoring Carson for her bravery during the incident. “It warms my heart to see her recognized for what she did,” he expressed. “She did what many grown-ups couldn’t.”
