When hearing-impared surfer Isabella Denyer went out alone at Polzeath Beach, she soon became overpowered by waves. Here's what happened, in her own words

On a family holiday in Polzeath, North Cornwall, I’d decided to try my hand at surfing. After a week of lessons, I hired a board and practised.

It was a gloomy, grey day on 26 August 2011 when I went surfing one last time before our departure. Carrying my longboard out into the chilly sea, facing the oncoming rain and waves that were mounting steadily, I began my accustomed paddle out towards where the waves were beginning to break.

Before I realised it, I was far away from the other surfers, out in the deep water with nothing except my board to keep me afloat. Little did I know how powerful the ocean can be and how powerless you can be if you're a weak swimmer and inexperienced surfer.

Despite my efforts to keep my board pointing nose forward towards the shore, ploughing through the onslaught of wave upon wave, I was hindered by a rip current. After struggling for about 20 minutes I began to swallow water and the gritty sand that had been caught up in the swirls of the waves.

There was a sense of darkness beginning to descend – a slow, frightening awareness that I no longer understood where top or bottom was. I was being tossed among the waves, my body becoming limp with the effort to keep afloat. I swallowed so much water that I could no longer catch my breath. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t call. I felt myself sinking, succumbing to the darkness that completely overcame me.

Terror and timing
Suddenly, I felt a hand gripping me around the middle, before I was hoisted over a shoulder. I could feel myself moving, being jogged along and the distant, far-away call of shouts. Without my hearing-aids, my world has very little sound; but never has it felt more unreal or silent than it was in that moment.

The urge to throw up was more wretched than any kind of sick bug in my life. I unsuccessfully attempted to rid my lungs of water and sand. The sensation of being unable to breathe alone was terrifying. The blackness came again.

When I came round once more, there were lots of people and I was very frightened. I still found it incredibly hard to breathe. I looked up into the reassuring face of a lifeguard, who was slowly pumping air into my lungs.

Even at that stage of my rescue when I was so unstable, somehow in the back of my consciousness I knew that it was going to be alright. The lifeguards knew what they were doing and understood my condition. They had acted quickly and skilfully to get me breathing again and had managed to get me to a place of safety. I dread to think what might have happened had they not been there or been so well trained.

I needed to get to hospital very quickly. The timing alone is testament to the speed and skill of the lifeguard team on Polzeath Beach that day – within the space of time from getting me out of the water to assessing my condition, the rescue helicopter had been called.

I was extremely lucky. As a novice surfer and a very weak swimmer I should never have gone out on my own. Having been treated further in hospital, I made a full recovery.

I want to say "thank-you" to the RNLI for what they did for me; but more than that, I want to say "you saved my life".

Debt of gratitude
On 17 June 2012, I hiked 40 miles down the north coast of Cornwall, from Bude to Polzeath to raise money for RNLI lifeguards. Since my accident I have realised the importance of knowing how to swim efficiently, so I’ve taken lessons and I aim to swim a mile to complete my fundraising mission. If you would like to help me raise money for the RNLI, please search online for Isabella Denyer on Virgin Money Giving.

Lifeguards Nathan Groves, Mike Jones and Luke Whitnall worked together quickly to revive Isabella. Surf school instructor Kelly O’Toole spotted her struggling and reached her just in time. Mike knows that much of his job is patrolling and prevention, but when he tells people he’s an RNLI lifeguard they often ask if he’s ever saved a life. Proudly, Mike now answers: ‘Isabella Denyer.’