NORTHPORT — A minute after a float plane slammed into the waters of Kezar Lake in Lovell, Beth Andrews and her husband freed themselves and their three-year-old son, Kyle, from the submerged plane. Then they spent several more minutes forcing their way back into the upside-down plane with a broken windshield to rescue five-year-old Lauren.

That was Aug. 7, 2007, a day Andrews remembers vividly. So vividly in fact, that it was years before she could swim in a lake or ocean again. But on Aug. 29, 2015, Andrews donned a swim suit and swam for the two miracles in her life and the LifeFlight organization that kept them with her.

Lauren, now 13, has no memory of the accident that took the life of the pilot and prompted a vacationing ER doctor to perform CPR on the stern of a boat until the ambulance — and then LifeFlight — arrived. She did, however, have a physical experience two years ago when she visited a friend in the same intensive care unit which she had occupied years before. She almost fainted, so bad was the physical reaction despite not remembering anything.

“Our bodies remember,” said Andrews, who for years after the accident couldn’t deal with the smell of a lake.

After the accident, Andrews and her family became staunch supporters of LifeFlight. She and her husband shared their story at many gatherings, and Andrews became a member of the fundraiser board. Lauren, for her sixth birthday, and every birthday afterwards, has asked for donations for LifeFlight in lieu of presents.

And now, Andrews can add Islesboro Swim to the family list.

“I’m very proud to do this. I’ve had some really important people, to me, donate...and important people to Lauren. [The event] is really raising awareness of the need for this in the state,” Andrews said.

Andrews joined 76 swimmers and 76 kayaker/paddle boarder support staff for the swim to Islesboro. Eighty swimmers were allowed to participate in the event that many more people were turned away from.

“We could easily have had 120 swimmers,” Tom Judge told the participants at a pre-event dinner in the Point Lookout Resort dining area. But, for safety reasons, the field was capped at 80.

Joe Kellner, director of LifeFlight communications (dispatch) also swam. Kellner, a paramedic, lives and works in Bangor, overseeing a staff of 16 that is also responsible for Northeast Mobile Health, Brewer Fire Department, and County Ambulance out of Ellsworth.

MedComm fields more than 100,000 requests for service every year. LifeFlight responds to the most serious of those calls, which works out to an estimated 1,600 calls per year, according to Melissa Arndt, director of communications for the LifeFlight of Maine/LifeFlight Foundation.

Kellner prepared for the event by swimming laps in a pool. A quick search of the internet reveals that a 5K swim is the equivalent of 90 laps (“to there and back”) in a standard pool.  

On this day, the LifeFlight helicopter made several loops over the island and the swimmers before landing in a field near the finish line. Several swimmers thanked the crew for the flyover, saying that the sight of the chopper was very inspiring and just what they needed to get them through the last part of the swim.

LifeFlight exceeds Islesboro Swim donation goal of $100,000

How do you do what you do?

Camden helps LifeFlight borrow money for new plane, expand services

First responders in flight over Maine

Donating $3.3 million, Linda Bean, employees and North Haven help make LifeFlight’s third helicopter a reality

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com.