I am the Grandmother of Frankie, the friend whose life was saved by Kaelan. I can not really put into words how we feel. When my daughter called me from the Hospital, she was so hysterical, I could not understand her. However, I did hear her screaming "Frankie's all right! Frankie's all right!" I felt a cold chill roll over me, then relief..but then she screamed: "Kaelan is lost! Frankie is asking for Kaelan..he said he was there, and then he was gone!" The cold chill returned, and it remains with me.

As I understand it - and no one is exactly clear about it, Frankie was being swept by the current, and Kaelan ran ahead to some rocks, and extended his hand. Frankie grasped it, but the current was too strong for him to get out. Kaelan jumped in, and pushed Frankie to a rock, which he grabbed. He was losing his grip, and worked his way into a crevice by the rock, and turned around for Kaelan, but Kaelan was gone... The joy of having Frankie still with us is so strong, but at the same time, it is so painful to even try to imagine the anguish you all must be feeling...I have tried to do so, but the prospect of even trying to imagine it is more painful than I can bear to go to at this time. All I can say is that Kaelan is and always will be such a hero to Frankie and all of us - he is devastated by Kaelan's loss, and I know he thinks of it all the time - as do I. This is a loss of such magnitude; it brings a pall over everyone and everything. I have asked all my friends for their thoughts and prayers on behalf of Kaelan Paton, a hero to whom all of us owe such a great debt. God Bless him. We are still praying for a miracle... Kaelan gave one to us...His memory will be with us forever...