Written by Craig Donaldson

Mother Mary and Archangel Michael Rescued Me from Death’s Waters

On Tuesday 11 April 2023, I experienced a drowning, and it was only through the intercession of God that I and my young son are alive today.

My wife, two sons and I were on a short family holiday on the South Coast of New South Wales. We were on the last day of our holiday and I took our sons to the beach to play and go for a swim in the surf. Surf conditions on the day were not good, and at nearby Shellharbour, there was a swell of 10 feet (3.1 metres) on that day.

We played safely in the shallow surf about 5 metres or less from the shore for 1-2 hours. I could see sand being churned heavily about 10 metres to the right of us and I assumed this was a strong rip which was being generated by the heavy swell and strong currents. We steered clear of this area.

Into the Deep

My eldest son asked if we could go deeper into the water, and against my better judgement, I agreed. We waded out a few more metres, and unbeknownst to me, the rip was wider and stronger than expected, and we were both caught in the rip. We were both ocean-facing and were unaware that we were in the rip for about 30-60 seconds, until we could not touch the bottom (the rip had pulled out all the sand from the sandbar). I turned around and saw we were about 30 metres from shore.

I quickly realized the gravity of the situation and knew we were in the rip. My family and I have watched probably too many episodes of Bondi Rescue over the years. I raised my hand to signal for help and yelled to my youngest son and one other person on the beach for help. My hand was in the air for maybe 5-10 seconds, and I yelled at my son, “Swim across!” to try and escape the rip.

As my hand was in the air, a local man called Dean, who was a former lifesaver, was driving by together with his wife. They were driving on a road that overlooks the beach when they saw my son and I in the rip. They recognized we were in distress, and they quickly pulled over and ran down to the beach.

My son and I are good swimmers, but the strength of the rip going back out to the ocean combined with the relentless large waves on top resulted in us being constantly rolled under – like being in a washing machine. After what seemed like 5-10 minutes of struggling in the rip, I was taking in significant amounts of water and could not surface for air. I remembered thinking “I didn’t think I would go out this way.”

“As a deeply spiritual person, I look forward to returning home to God when He calls me.”

I knew I had about 1-2 minutes of life left, and the faces of my family – my wife and my two sons – flashed before me underneath the waves. I felt pangs of regret that I would not be there to see them grow up. I have read stories about fathers who die and leave their wife and children behind. I did not want to be one of those fathers, though I was not afraid of dying. I have read of many beautifully divine near-death experiences over the decades.

A Plea to Salvation

But I felt it was not my time. I had a choice between giving up and leaving this life or fighting and staying here. For my family, I made the choice to stay. I came to the surface and prayed to Mother Mary and Archangel Michael for help. I remember stretching my left arm out in a short break between the waves and looking up at the clouds. My cry for help was not strong; it was desperate and failing as the sea spray whipped my face over the waves.

The instant I called for help, Mother Mary and Archangel Michael appeared. Mother Mary appeared as Our Lady Star of the Sea (very similar to this image below), about one metre above the waves and three metres in front of me. Archangel Michael appeared maybe 20 metres further back and higher up to Mother Mary’s right. Mother Mary stretched her right hand forward over the waters, to guide the sea and keep me safe for what was to come.

Another set of waves pumelled and rolled me underneath the waves, and I came up one last time. At that moment, Dean appeared in the waves next to me. I didn’t know who he was or where he came from, but I could tell he was a strong swimmer and I felt my prayer was answered. I thought he looked like a special forces soldier, and wondered, “Where do he come from?” He told my son and I to lie on our backs. This was to conserve energy and to float closer to the shore with the help of the breaking waves.

Choosing Between Us

Dean tried to bring us both in at first, and he grabbed and tried to swim us closer to the shore with the help of the waves. But the rip was too strong, and he knew he was unable to save both of us at the same time. He had to make the difficult choice of saving my son or I, based on who had the best chance of survival. He made the right choice and went to save my son.

One more set of waves rolled over me, and I remember being tossed around in the ocean like a rag doll. I could not reach the surface for air, and at this moment I lost consciousness and left my body.

Eyewitnesses told me later that Dean had grabbed my son as he laid on his back in the surf and swam with him across the rip, and then fought their way back near the shore, to a point where my son could stand on the seabed and get to the beach himself. Dean turned back to the ocean and he could see that I was still in the waves. Eyewitnesses said I was about 70-100 metres from the shore by then. Dean realized that if he attempted to swim out and rescue me, he would likely not survive himself as he was heavily fatigued and had taken in much seawater himself in the first rescue.

Over the next 5-10 minutes, I was carried sideways out of the rip which should have taken me further out to sea. I attest this to the intercession of Mother Mary, whose hand guided me to safety as I was taken across another stretch of water where I was positioned closer to some nearby rocks which extended from the beach out into the water.

Another Chance

From the shore, Dean realized that he had a chance to get closer to me and he ran out onto the rocks. Another set of waves broke – which could have taken me further out, or closer to the rocks. By the grace of God, they carried me directly towards Dean, and at that moment the waves stopped and the sea pulled back to reveal a rock ledge that Dean was able to climb down on and reach out to grab me. He pulled my body out of the surf and onto the ledge, but was unable to lift me. He later told me that I felt like a “dead weight”.

The waves came back in and instead of smashing us against the rocks, like a hand in the ocean, they lifted both of us up onto the rocks safely. Dean dragged my body across the rocks closer to shore, and by this time others had gathered on the beach. Two other men ran out onto the rocks to assist in carrying my body back to the beach. I was brought to the shore, and as my body hit the sand, I came back and regained consciousness. I struggled to breathe as I had taken in a lot of water, but I was alive.

My rescuers carried me further up the beach to a local lifesaver, who had come down from a neighboring beach with an oxygen tank. My oxygen levels were critically low and Dean’s wife who was a former nurse assisted with administering oxygen. I began to recover and vomited heavily a number of times, to expel the seawater from my stomach. By this time, the paramedics had arrived in three ambulances along with three police cars as well as a helicopter. The paramedics assisted in stabilizing me, and I was loaded into an ambulance for transfer to the local hospital.

I was taken to the emergency department where I was put on a high-flow oxygen ventilator and given other treatment to bring my oxygen levels back to normal. I had swallowed a lot of seawater and my left lung had partially collapsed. I also suffered kidney failure and the doctors said later that the initial blood test analysis resembled someone who was clinically dead and resuscitated.

After three days of recovery in the hospital, I was discharged and sent home. I was almost fully recovered and I am grateful.

Recognizing Divine Intervention

God’s Hand was evident in many ways on that day.

From Dean, a former lifesaver, passing at the exact time I had my hand in the air for help and then showing up in the waves in less than a minute after I prayed for help, to him rescuing my son and then having the ocean carry me directly to him for a second rescue, God heard my cry for help and saved our lives that day.

The waves should have smashed us against the rocks, but they lifted us up out of the ocean to safety. The sea made way for Dean to reach me and pull me out of the ocean. I was dragged across rocks away from the surf and my back should have been full of cuts and bruises, but my back was unmarked. Dean later said their feet should have been all cut up too, but he and the other rescuers’ feet were unharmed.

Hospital doctors said my blood test results resembled someone who was clinically dead and then resuscitated – though no resuscitation was performed. The emergency department doctors told my wife I would likely be on oxygen for at least a couple of weeks, if not months. By God’s grace, and the many prayers that were offered for me, I was on oxygen for only two days. My lungs healed quickly and my kidneys regained full working function shortly thereafter.

Recollecting this Near-Death Experience

I have had memories of my near-death experience, which surfaced in the hospital in the first few days after my experience.

The first memory was my visit before a Council of Heaven which might have been the Great Karmic Board. The memory is a still image, like a postcard from heaven. I recall standing before great beings of light, who were seated before me in a semi-circle position. I had another being of light on my left, who was acting as my advocate before the council. Though I could not see her face, I felt that she was Mother Mary. After my experience, I spoke with a deeply spiritual priest and a Padre Pio devotee. He said that Mother Mary was right there by my side at the hour of my death to intercede and advocate for me. I have faithfully prayed the rosary daily for decades, “pray for us, now and at the hour of our victory over sin, disease and death.”

“I am grateful for this extraordinary grace, as a number of burdens were lifted from me during the experience. Rather than a near-death experience, I call it a life and death experience, because it was both a life experience in that God blessed me with renewed faith, devotion, love and appreciation for Him in all things, and a death experience in that a significant part of my old, stubborn human self died that day.”

The second memory I have is of a large red demon being dragged away by two big blue angels under the watch of Archangel Michael. This demon’s mission was to take me out of embodiment. But God was in charge that day, and when the demon realized what was happening in the waves and that God had intervened, he went into a rage and his face twisted with a livid anger. This demon was big, about 2-3 times my height and extraordinarily strong, as far as measures go on earth. But he was no match for the two angels who were dragging him above and away beyond the waves, like two bouncers hauling an unruly drunk off. His strength was as naught, and there was not a thing he could do about it. God is the ruling and only real power in the universe. Demons only have as much power as you give them through varying levels of fear and/or consent.

The action of God’s intercession all happened in the blink of an eye. Time is inconsequential to Heaven, and the decision, execution and result of God’s Will was instantaneous. God was ready and willing to help on that day, and all that was required was for me to stretch out my hand and ask for it. And it was given in abundance. God is always there for us, whether we want His help or not. Just as I did not want to leave my family and I wanted to be there for them in the future, I felt that He respected my decision because that is what He does for us every moment of our lives. He never abandons us and He never leaves us.

“All we need to do is ask for His help.”

The message in all of this is that we need to trust and surrender to God, all the time – and not just when we are in trouble. Start your day with prayer and surrender. Bend your knee before Him first thing in the day and invite Him into your life. Ask Him to be part of your day and guide and protect you in everything you do. The currents of life will sometimes carry you in unexpected directions, but He can lift you out of danger and carry you to safety. The sea obeyed His command without question that day, and when you give God the power to act in your life, miracles can happen.

Praise GOD.

Special note: Dean, the lifesaver who rescued Craig and his son received an award for his brave deed.

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Attributions

1. Our Lady Star of the Sea, Nicole Lanthier, www.etsy.com/shop/NicholeLanthier