A grandmother from Kansas, Barb Prier, faced a life-threatening ordeal while attending a destination wedding in Cabo, Mexico, after being violently pulled into the ocean by a sudden and powerful wave.
A Celebratory Trip Turns to Crisis
In June, Barb Prier travelled south of the border with her family for a wedding, also planning to mark her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband, Cecil. The first four days of the holiday passed without incident. However, on the morning of the wedding, 12 June, Prier decided to take a walk on the beach with her sister while most of the family was in the hotel pool.
According to reports from the Cabo Sun Newspaper, the pair were not especially close to the water's edge when they were caught by a sudden swell of waves, known locally as a mar de fondo. "The waves didn’t seem very rough. I was walking towards my sister," Prier later told KCTV. "All of a sudden, it just broke loose, and a couple of the waves came in, one on top of each other."
A third wave knocked both women over, dragging Barb Prier into the turbulent sea. Her son, Tim Prier, described the harrowing scene: "She was in the washing machine - or the wave, so to speak - just being pounded over and over and over again."
Immediate Rescue and Grave Injuries
As Prier was tossed in the surf, employees who had arrived to set up the beach wedding swiftly formed a human chain to pull her to safety. Crucially, four wedding guests with medical experience rushed over to administer CPR.
The grandmother sustained severe injuries, including a head wound, a broken spine, broken legs, and a punctured lung. Doctors later discovered sand and seashells lodged in her lungs. She was stabilised at a Mexican hospital for five days before being airlifted to the University of Kansas Hospital for further treatment.
The prognosis from medical professionals was devastating. Prier recalled them telling her family: "Your mother will never walk again. She’ll never talk again. She won’t be able to feed herself. She won’t be able to dress. She’ll be in a nursing home."
A Defiant and Miraculous Recovery
Defying all expectations, Barb Prier has made a remarkable and full recovery. She is now able to talk, walk, dress, and feed herself independently at home. "There's five miracles right there," Prier stated, reflecting on her regained abilities.
In a poignant decision, the beach wedding proceeded as planned. The groom's father, a doctor who was among the first to aid Prier, helped keep the incident a secret until after the newlyweds' honeymoon. The family believed Barb would not have wanted the celebration cancelled or postponed.
Reflecting on the traumatic event and its outcome, Tim Prier said, "I did not want that visual if this was going to be the last time that I saw my mother... we all started praying. God really watched over us on this whole thing."
