4-18-08
A grandfather on a stroll with his grandson one Friday afternoon found himself battling a menacing gust of wind near lake Michigan. The wind won. He was walking along a 70-foot-long pier, pushing his 2-year-old grandson in a stroller, when a strong gust took a hold of the stroller, sending it straight into the lake, with the boy inside it.

The water in the lake was just a chilling 42 degrees Fahrenheit. The grandfather gave chase after the child and jumped into the harbor to try to rescue him. Witnesses said they saw the man, who appeared to be in his mid sixties, struggling in the frigid water. He was frantic, pointing to an area a few feet away and shouting “Child! Child!” in broken English. Eventually the child was pulled from the water, but not before he had been submerged in the lake for at least 15 minutes.

He was pulled out unconscious but alive, and rushed to the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago in critical condition. The grandfather was also hospitalized, taken to St. Joseph Hospital. He was being treated for exposure and hypothermia, and was listed in stable condition.