Nineteen year old Preston Browne, a graduate of the SVG Community College, was a well-liked, artistic, creative and musical person who was a Member of the Youth Fellowship at Brighton Methodist Church.
Last Saturday, he was celebrating his first weekend off his job as an Airport Cadet at E.T. Joshua Airport. Along with his best friend Timon Warren he had looked forward to an afternoon of fun in the sand and surf at Brighton Beach. The winds and surf were high and although Preston was a non-swimmer, the boys did not go beyond their depth, as they enjoyed the surf and riding the waves into shore. Without warning: Tragedy struck.
Young Hero: Timon Warren (Best friend)
Timon Warren remembers seeing a large wave crash over the head of his friend Preston, knocking him down. He became aware that he had lost his footing in the shifting sands and the undertow was pulling him out to sea. He was obviously in difficulty.
Timon is a good swimmer: Risking his own life, he rushed into the surf where he had last seen Preston. He managed to grab hold of him and attempted to pull him into shore. This was no easy task as Preston weighed over 200 pounds and at times Timon was underneath Preston, trying to hold his head above water.
Timon’s calls for help were heard by one of the Bequia Beach Club’s attendants, John Rayham who ran into the sea with an inflated tube and assisted Timon in bringing Preston, who still had signs of life and a pulse, up onto the beach.
John Rayham-Bequia Beach Club
Timon, who had taken Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training, applied pressure and rolled him on his side: He coughed up a considerable amount of water. An off duty police officer witness continued emergency resuscitation efforts while Timon attracted the attention of another person on the beach, Maxwell Sayers.
Sayers told THE VINCENTIAN that he had seen the boys playing in the surf but did not realize until that moment that there was a problem. He called 911, an ambulance and the police for assistance, but was told to put the victim in his car and drive to the hospital. He was further advised that the ambulance would meet him on the way. Despite providing his vehicle description and plate number, plus honking his horn, the ambulance passed him in the Villa area. Preston may have actually died on the way to the hospital.
THE VINCENTIAN interviewed George and Grace Warren, friends of the Browne family and parents of Timon. They belonged to the same church community, Brighton Methodist, and knew Preston as a fine young man who had “Accepted Christ” and was a leader in the youth fellowship. George Warren said he was like a son to them.
Former Head Mistress of his primary school, Mrs. Lewis remembered him to be a thoughtful, intelligent and artistic student who asked interesting questions and was very serious about being a Christian.
Sylvester, Princeton and Joy Ann Browne
THE VINCENTIAN also interviewed Sylvester and Joy Ann Browne, parents of Preston. Mrs. Browne, an active church worker was a Sunday school leader and at the time of her son’s drowning was attending a funeral of a church member. Through their grief, they spoke with love and pride of their son Preston. They also have another son, Princeton, age 7.
When a family or community loses one of its senior members, in its sadness it celebrates the memory of that person’s long and full life and accepts death as a continuing journey. When the loss is a child or young adult, the loss is also for a life that might have been and was not allowed to develop to its full potential.
The communities of Brighton and Diamond and Brighton Methodist Church are all grieving the loss of one of their promising young men, and asking “Why?”.
Drowning is the second leading cause of injury-related death among children and young adults and is one of the leading causes of death for visitors in St. Vincent & the Grenadines and the Caribbean in General. Our beaches do not have lifeguards and extreme caution is necessary swimming in unfamiliar waters.
Another observation is the absence of the availability of oxygen for emergencies. Our police detachments, most hotels, beaches and even local medical clinics do not have Oxygen available for emergencies. Would the availability of oxygen have helped prevent the death of Preston Browne? Not until the results of the autopsy are known, and even then, we may never know.
No comments:
Post a Comment