Tobago Correspondent
Sharon Vasquez-Richard, the mother of Caribbean Airlines First Officer Christon Battersby, broke down in tears yesterday as she met the two women who saved her son’s life in Tobago last Saturday.
During a commendation ceremony hosted by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Vasquez-Richard called them “angels” and said she was deeply grateful.
Speaking directly to the women—Anna Hospedales of Canada and Sarah Perrson from Sweden—Vasquez-Richard said, her voice shaking with emotion, “Anna and the other angels who came and rescued, revived, and gave life to my son, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. God is going to bless you all abundantly.”
The ceremony at the Division of Tourism’s head office in Scarborough marked the first time Battersby’s family met Hospedales and Perrson.
The women were honoured for their bravery in rescuing Battersby after he was injured while diving off the Pigeon Point jetty last Saturday.
Battersby struck his head on an unknown object, lost consciousness, and was pulled to shore. Perrson, who was captured on video performing CPR, kept him alive until emergency officers arrived. Doctors later confirmed he had broken his neck in two places and suffered spinal cord injuries. He underwent surgery and is now recovering.
However, the rescuers said critical minutes were lost in the emergency response.
Hospedales recalled arriving at the scene and realising no one had called emergency services yet, while Perrson pushed through exhaustion to administer CPR.
“In this situation, it’s teamwork. It’s very heavy; it’s very hard, and I understand that people want to take cameras and film, but it would have been better if someone could have gotten the shade, water, or called 911 way earlier,” Hospedales said.
Perrson, who acted on instinct, believes quicker emergency response training could save more lives.
“We always trust people that are working to know what to do. I think if they get the right amount of training, they will act quicker, faster,” she said.
Amid public criticism over the response time, THA Tourism Secretary Tashia Burris said the lifeguards did their best with the resources available.
“Christon is a miracle; that is the takeaway. It doesn’t matter if the rescue was scrappy, doesn’t matter if they didn’t follow the textbook, doesn’t matter if it was perfect. Christon being here still is a miracle,” she said.
The women, who say they hadn’t planned to be at the beach that day, believe they were meant to be there by divine intervention. Battersby’s family said they will never forget the strangers who saved his life.
