Dr. Mike Hatcher says he’s only alive today because of the actions of his son and firefighters with the Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s Volunteer Fire Department.
Hatcher says he can’t overstate the firefighters’ role in saving him the day his arm was nearly severed in a boating accident on Conception Bay.
It’s a story that’s tough to tell, but one he wants everyone to hear. He even showed up at the Firefighters’s Ball over the weekend to thank them in person. He spoke to VOCM’s Fred Hutton:
On July 27th, Hatcher and his son Logan were near Cape St. Francis in a 20 foot open boat. Hatcher’s brother-in-law, Phillip Grouchy and 14-year-old niece were also along for the trip.
“It was a beautiful day and we stopped to take a few pictures” he told the crowd who gathered over the weekend at the Legion in Portugal Cove.
Hatcher’s voice began to crack as he recounted what happened next. “We were just opening the throttle to get going when we struck what must have been a whale” he said. The boat jack-knifed and Hatcher was thrown overboard. His arm was almost severed by the propeller of the 150 horse power motor.
After a brief pause to compose himself, Hatcher again became emotional when he drew attention to his 17-year-old son, Logan, who jumped into the frigid water to save him. The crowd applauded, giving the young man a standing ovation.
Hatcher told the crowd that his son “dove in the water wearing only a tank top, shorts and life jacket and dragged me 80-100 feet back to the boat.”
When they reached shore at Portugal Cove where the Bell Island ferry docks, member of the PCSP Fire Department were waiting.
Hatcher, who is from this province but now works at an emergency room in Ontario, says the firefighters were amazing.
Hatcher told the crowd that as an emergency room physician “I see some awful things and this was certainly not an pretty thing for them to see.”
He praised them for keeping their composure under very extreme conditions. He said “imagine the scene in that boat where I had lost two-thirds of my blood.”
“A battle-trained JTF medic could not have done better than what you did that day” he told the crowd.
Hatcher said “the way you spoke to me and kept me and my family calm meant everything.” Raising his bandaged arm in the air he thanked them for saving his life and limb.
Hatcher concluded by saying “I went home to my family because of you.”
