Kathy and I each grabbed one of the handles of the wheelchair and tipped it backward until the chair was reclining fully on its back and Coach’s head was on the AstroTurf floor of the boat. Wendy picked up the white plastic bucket, which was full of lake water. She poured it over his face. The screaming was replaced with gurgling.When the bucket was empty, Wendy dipped it into the lake and refilled it. She set it down near the wheelchair and knelt by her husband’s head. He was choking and snuffling on the water in his lungs. She stroked his hair, pushing his soaked bangs out of his eyes. “Shh,” she said. “Shh, Owen.” When he quieted enough to take a breath, she said, “Scream again, and I’ll do that again. Keep quiet and we can talk like grown-ups. Deal?”He coughed, then nodded as vigorously as his position would allow. Kathy and I righted the chair. He choked up more water, then dry heaved. He was fully awake now, his eyes wide, his wet blond hair plastered back. His head was the only part of his body he could move and he kept turning it back and forth, desperately trying to take in the situation.
