19-year-old Youssef Bounagui works as a lifeguard at the 12 Oaks Country Club in Holly Springs, North Carolina. On Wednesday, July 17, Youssef was working at the country club’s pool when a 7-year-old boy began to drown right in front of him.
Before he could make it into the pool to rescue the little boy, Youssef sadly slipped and then hit his head on the concrete. Despite suffering serious injuries, he managed to still save the drowning boy.
Youssef not only lost a couple of teeth in the fall; he also suffered head trauma and a spinal cord injury but was able to swim to rescue the boy in need.
Speaking to WRAL, Youssef said in an interview, “The last thing I remember is being in the trauma room with 20 doctors, and I’m asking, ‘What happened? What happened?”
Youssef bravely kept going even though he was in pain and was able to reach the boy in time.
“The kid was still drowning, so I swam 20 meters to get him,” he added. “I got him out, [that] is what everyone has been telling me.”
As soon as Youssef climbed out of the country club’s pool, he passed out, but luckily, another lifeguard named Sean Donovan rushed to his aid.
“Me and the other guard cleared the pool and grabbed a backboard. I did what I was trained to do by the Red Cross,” Sean said to WRAL about his heroic rescue of Youssef.
Youssef is facing down a long road to recovery and currently cannot walk or work, but he says he would do it all over again in a heartbeat in order to get the boy out of the pool before harm could come to him.
A GoFundMe page has been created to assist Youssef throughout his recovery process.
“Hello everyone, as you may know, our good friend and fabulous 12 Oaks pool manager, Youssef, has suffered from numerous injuries due to trying to save a child in distress,” the organizers wrote.
“Thinking fast on his feet and putting the child’s safety before his own resulted in him getting severe trauma injuries. He loves his job and would do it a thousand times over; that’s why we love him so much. He cares so much for this community, and I know we would love to give back.”
“Currently, he is healing from brain and spinal trauma that led to a mild concussion and spinal cord swelling. He cannot walk at this moment and will have to relearn to do so. He can’t do basic things like eat, shower, etc. Due to the head trauma, he is also missing some teeth.”
You can check out the GoFundMe page for Youssef here.
