[IDAHO] If you embrace the concept that things happen for a reason…that there’s a plan for the road your walk…you will be able to clearly relate to Rachelle Ruffing.
The Idaho woman still can’t stop the emotion when she thinks about her “Miracle Man.”
Rachelle takes us back to late June of 2020, as she and her family were paddle boarding on the Snake River near Pillar Falls. She tells KTVB-TV she had a feeling something was wrong.
Brendan Lease was just passing through this part of the inland Northwest, when he spotted the falls, the river, and decided to take a kayak onto the water. The young man was on a road trip with friends, far from his Michigan home. We’re not sure how much kayak experience Brendan had leading up to this day…but experience or not, when you catch the wrong end of a powerful current, its easy to be pulled under water.
Rachelle and her daughters boyfriend were able to get Brendan to shore.
Brendan appeared lifeless. Nonetheless, instinct kicked in, and Rachelle began chest compressions. Eventually, a rush of water exited the young man’s lungs, and for the first time in minutes…he was breathing again. Paramedics took over, and got Brendan to the hospital.
Brendan was discharged the next day, and both he and Rachelle have a photo of their embrace in the hospital’s parking lot.
Flash-forward to 2025.
In early October, Brendan Lease exchanged vows with his girlfriend. And, he invited Rachelle to be there. She remembers how beautiful the bride was, how emotional Brendan’s parents were to see Rachelle, and what it meant to see her Miracle Man do what he was intended to do.
Hear more about what Rachelle had to say about her “Miracle Man” in the audio version of this story.
