By Jill Feldon LaNouette, American Red Cross

A beautiful day on the beach on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, turned into a frightening experience for Sarah Acosta, her mother and her sister. Thankfully, lifeguard training provided by the American Red Cross gave Sarah the confidence she needed to save her mother’s life. 

In January 2025, while Sarah was picking up trash as well as tiny shells along the beach, Sarah’s sister, Amanda, and their mother, Denise, were enjoying “dolphin diving” in the clear blue ocean. Denise then floated on her back, soaking in the warm sun and not noticing that the waves were drifting her toward the reef. 

Suddenly, “she couldn’t find her footing to lift herself,” said Amanda, “and the reef was too shallow and scratched her.” As the waves pulled and pushed her against the rough reef, Denise flipped onto her stomach so the reef wouldn’t scratch her back while she struggled to escape. 

Amanda screamed for Sarah and pointed toward her mother’s location. She knew that Sarah was a trained lifeguard and could help people at risk of drowning. Sarah dropped her shells and ran toward the ocean. Diving in, she quickly swam toward her mother. “Waves would come, pick up our mom and roll her over my sister,” said Amanda, “throwing them both into the reef, and they would reset again.” 

When the waves again filled the reef and the water was deep enough, Sarah used a maneuver called the “J Swoop” to grab her mother’s wrist and flip her onto her back. Sarah, who was 20, then pulled her 58-year-old mother onto her body. Using a crossbody carry, she pulled her mother toward the shore. Once they were able to find their footing, Sarah and Denise – with Amanda’s help – walked up the beach hill toward safety. 

“I made sure she could walk to where we were camping,” Sarah said. “That’s when I saw the scratches on her back from the reef.” That’s also when she started to feel her own cuts, which went from her toes up to her waist, and lots of adrenaline kicking in. 

Her father, Ben, who had been fishing, came running toward them. Relieved, he told Sarah how grateful he was for Sarah’s Red Cross training. 

Having been certified in “Lifeguarding with CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers and First Aid” from the Red Cross just eight months prior, Sarah was grateful for her instructor’s insistence on repeating lifesaving methods. “It gave me the confidence I needed. I am so thankful for that because I knew just what to do,” she said. She had had the opportunity to practice her lifesaving skills throughout the summer of 2024 while working as a lifeguard at a summer camp. But she had never practiced her skills on an ocean reef. 

Sarah believes she was called to be a lifeguard. She had a frightening experience when she was seven years old playing with friends on a beach. While washing their sandy feet in the surf, they were hit by a big wave that pulled them offshore about 100 feet, she says. Luckily, a passerby who just happened to be a certified lifeguard saw what was happening and jumped in to save them. An ambulance ride to the hospital later found them all in good condition, but much more mindful of the need to be careful around the water.  

For more than 100 years, the Red Cross has been making water a safer place for everyone by developing the training that enables facilities to deliver Lifeguarding and Lifeguarding Instructor training, Water Safety Instructor® training along with swim lessons. Through these efforts, we have helped to reduce accidental drownings by 90% nationwide. But even with that improvement, an estimated 4,000 people fatally drown in the United States each year.

Sarah has just become a lifeguard instructor for the Red Cross while continuing to serve as a lifeguard at her summer camp. Asked what advice she might have for someone considering getting trained as a lifeguard, Sarah said, “I would tell anyone to really know what you are getting yourself into. Some things are hard to swallow – like knowing you are in a life-or-death situation. If you think you’ll just be hanging out at the pool, you need to know that you may be the only thing standing between a child or person being able to get out. You hold that responsibility.” 

Because she used her training to save her mother from drowning, Sarah received a Certificate of Merit lifesaving award from the American Red Cross in June. We congratulate Sarah on her accomplishment and skills. 

For information on how to become trained in lifeguard and water safety, please visit Lifeguard Training & Certification | Red Cross.

If you or someone you know has used lifeguarding or CPR skills to help save or sustain the life of another individual, visit LifesavingAwards.org to nominate, recognize or be inspired.