The Nasson family continue a decades-long search to find the man who gave their matriarch a second chance at life after saving her from drowning.
Cape Town, South Africa (13 March 2024) – Around 48 years ago over the Easter Weekend, Crystal Nasson was a 12-year-old young lady with her whole future ahead of her. On a family outing to the Silver Stream Lagoon, Crystal had gone to swim and had accidentally drifted out towards the ocean. A young man in his 20s swam out to help her when nobody else could reach her and changed the course of her life forever! Over the past 5 decades, the Nasson family have searched for this man, so Crystal could share the life she has lived thanks to his efforts.
It takes just one moment to change the entire course of a life. One smile, one helping hand, one reassuring word or one life-changing action.
That was the case for Crystal Nasson all those years ago. She was in serious trouble, struggling against the current, losing energy and ability to stay afloat, desperate to get back to shore to her sisters and family. Crystal’s daughter Aybra reached out to share the story, hoping that Good Things Guy readers may be able to help track down the family’s hero from all those years ago.
“Roughly 48 years ago, when my mom was about 12 or 13, she almost drowned at Silver Stream Lagoon in the Western Cape… this experience was naturally very traumatic, and the way she describes it, it was chaos. She had drifted out toward the open sea and was terrified. Her sisters and other lagoon goers tried to get her; however, at that point, she was too deep.
Please note that I’ve been hearing this story my entire life, and it was very traumatic for the extended family, so we only have pieces, but a young man, roughly 19 or 20, swam in and saved her life.
All we know about this man is that he was a visitor to Cape Town, and he could be from Jhb or Kimberly or surrounds, and that he was from a place that had no ocean. He would be about 70ish or there about.”
Aybra is hoping that by a small chance, the man’s children or grandchildren will have also grown up with the stories of how he saved a young lady back in his youth.
“My mom owes this man her life and she would like to thank him as she has 3 kids and 10 grandchildren and one on the way which would have never been possible without this man and she would like to share that with him.. he has been I’m my families prayers and thoughts and my mom would just like to let him know that he didn’t just save her life but her bloodline too…”
We asked Crystal, who is now 61 years old, what she would say to the man if they were ever reunited. She shared that she would want to thank him for the beautiful life that he gifted to her and that she celebrates his actions every chance she can.
“You might not realise the huge impact you had on my life, but the day you rescued me, I saw an Angel in the form of a teenage boy.
As a teen, I tried to put this incident out of my mind as I was so traumatized, but as I got married and had my own children, I realised the full extent of the tremendous gift you gave me.
I think about you at every birthday and every birthday of my children and grandchildren as none of them would have been here if not for you. I now have 10 grandchildren and one on the way and I am truly thankful for what you did.
I hope your life was and is amazing as you deserve no less.”
If this story sounds familiar to you, you can reach out to Aybra via email here to share.
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