An 80-year-old woman was rushed to Blake Medical Center Nov. 29 after a near-drowning in Holmes Beach.
The woman, described by Holmes Beach police as a “European visitor,” was not identified.
At around 3:15 p.m., the Holmes Beach Police Department and West Manatee Fire Rescue were dispatched to the beach in the area of White Avenue in response to a call.
The caller described a woman in a blue swim top and sweatpants, who was out of the water and not completely alert.
“A call came in about a near-drowning. Rescue 138 was the first on scene followed by Alpha 4,” said WMFR Administrative Battalion Chief Jay Johnson. “The patient was not breathing initially …” Johnson said, and he indicated she began struggling to breathe.
Johnson said Firefighter Cameron Frasier determined the woman had fluid in her airways and she went into cardiac arrest as her airway was cleared.
“She was transported by ambulance to Blake” in Bradenton, Johnson said, where she was admitted to the intensive care unit. She regained circulation during transport.
As of Dec. 5, there was no information available on the woman or her condition.