Most of us crave an escape to the ocean to truly recharge our batteries and relax. Blake Spataro and his family are no exception.
The 19-year-old from Bossier, Louisiana was enjoying a vacation at the beautiful St. Simon Island in Georgia with his father when he decided to go for a swim in the shallow waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
The next thing he knew a powerful riptide was dragging his body out to sea. He screamed for help but the sound of the wind and the waves masked his pleas. Blake spent the night alone in the ocean but never gave up hope thanks to his faith.
Blake spent the next ten hours fighting to survive in the ocean, trying to conserve energy by floating on his back.
“I didn’t want to die out there,” he said. “I was talking to God the entire night.”
WOW! Talk about some survival skills! This is right down the road!
Posted by WTOC Jamie Ertle on Thursday, July 12, 2018
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search to locate the missing teen. Blake’s father, Kirk Spataro, spent the night searching the shorelines, screaming his son’s name.
Spataro’s mother, Janice Dansby Spataro, who was not on the trip with her son, had a strong feeling her son was in the ocean and spent the night praying for her son.
“I knew he was in the water — I felt it,” Janice said. “I prayed to God all night long and I reached out on social media to ask for prayer because there’s power in prayer.”
Blake was encouraged when he saw the lights of a coast guard boat and he had the strength to swim to a nearby golf course.
“I wanted to live,” Blake said. “I thought I was too young to die, and I simply didn’t want to end there.”
Once he made it to shore, he called his family to say he was alive, and went to a hospital. Other than dehydration he was uninjured and thankful to have made it to safety declaring: “I am truly blessed to be alive today.”
Find out more about this miraculous survival in the video below.
[arve url=”https://youtu.be/J5WTqnp4Xj0″ /]
Blake never gave up hope thanks to his faith and his family took comfort in the power of prayer throughout this frightening ordeal. Please share this uplifting story with your friends and family.
