Dear Editor,

Our dear niece and family from Houston come up here to our cabin for a week-long vacation every summer. This time was wonderful, as usual, except for one thing… Mema (the kids’ Grandma) fell face-first in the shallow end of the activity pool and couldn’t get up. She was drowning.

One of our lifeguards, Alyssa, jumped right in, clothes and all, saving Mema’s life! I was swimming at the time and didn’t know what happened until the children came over and told me. I saw Mema sitting inside the edge of the pool, recovering from this traumatic event, still struggling to catch her breath.

I want to thank Alyssa publicly for doing her job to the best of her ability. We all thank this precious young woman for making a difference for our family, but also for all those who have performed similar life-saving measures for others in our beautiful county.

Donna Okray Parman

Gilpin County