Nick Schuyler's Survival Story
PAGE 9
Around 4 a.m. on Sunday, Nick was still holding onto Marquis. "We had been in this position for roughly over an hour, and it was a fight [to hold him down]."
Then, at about 5 a.m., Nick says he noticed Corey was exhibiting similar symptoms. "Ninety percent of his body was in the water," Nick says. "So some of the things that Marquis had begun to form, as far as the motor functions and slurring, I think Corey was [experiencing] too."
After another 30 minutes, Nick says Marquis stopped fighting. He was dead. "Me and Will, a few times we had checked Marquis' pulse, and Will's like, 'He's not there,'" Nick says. "At that point, we tried to flip him over and give him CPR, which was virtually impossible with the waves."
As they tended to Marquis, Nick says a disoriented Corey became aggressive. "[Corey's] starting to fight as well. He's staring to get away, which once again was not Corey. The hypothermia was definitely set in," he says. "There was no way that I could hold onto Corey and Marquis at the same time."
Nick says he faced an impossible decision. If he didn't let Marquis' body go, he couldn't help Corey. If he held on, he could lose them both. "I just kept telling Coop, 'Coop, I'm so sorry,'" he says. "I had to let go."
Then, at about 5 a.m., Nick says he noticed Corey was exhibiting similar symptoms. "Ninety percent of his body was in the water," Nick says. "So some of the things that Marquis had begun to form, as far as the motor functions and slurring, I think Corey was [experiencing] too."
After another 30 minutes, Nick says Marquis stopped fighting. He was dead. "Me and Will, a few times we had checked Marquis' pulse, and Will's like, 'He's not there,'" Nick says. "At that point, we tried to flip him over and give him CPR, which was virtually impossible with the waves."
As they tended to Marquis, Nick says a disoriented Corey became aggressive. "[Corey's] starting to fight as well. He's staring to get away, which once again was not Corey. The hypothermia was definitely set in," he says. "There was no way that I could hold onto Corey and Marquis at the same time."
Nick says he faced an impossible decision. If he didn't let Marquis' body go, he couldn't help Corey. If he held on, he could lose them both. "I just kept telling Coop, 'Coop, I'm so sorry,'" he says. "I had to let go."
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