“Started Running to the Water”: Anonymous 911 Caller Grabs Spotlight as Peyton Hillis Admits He Saw the Kids Screaming by Waving Their Hands

Retired NFL player Peyton Hillis had a scary moment of heroism back in January. The former New York Giants RB, who retired in 2015 because of his history of concussions, faced a terrifying moment with his family while spending time on a beach in Florida. He gave his all to save his 9-year-old son and 8-year-old niece after they were almost swept away by a rip current on the beach.

And now, months after the horrifying experience, Hillis has come forward to speak about the incident. He shared his experience of seeing the children fight the strong currents as his fatherly instinct kicked in to jump to their rescue. 

Peyton Hillis reminisces scarring episode

During a recent interview with ABC News, Hillis recalled that tragic day when he almost lost his son and niece. He talked about how he had planned the previous day of spending a day at the beach with his family, and how there was a bad storm that day. He didn’t think much of it and continued to proceed with his plans. Peyton Hillis recalled not seeing any flags that would have warned them about the strong rip currents.

He then proceeded to share the details of how he heard his mother screaming that the kids were drowning in the ocean. Hillis said, “I hear my mom screaming. And so I looked at her and she pointed out to my son and said Orry and Camilla are drowning. And so I didn’t even think. I just reacted and running to the water.” The episode then proceeds to play a 911 call made by an anonymous lady who informed officials about the incident. This led to the paramedics reaching the beach on time to handle the situation.

Read more: “What a Heroic Moment”: Former NFL RB Peyton Hillis’ Risky Decision for Son to Save Another Life Leaves Sports World in Awe

And the aftermath of the incident has led to Hillis suffering from health conditions that he is still recovering from even today.

The aftermath of the incident on Hillis

After successfully managing to save his son and niece, the 37-year-old fainted on the shore. The rescue operation led to Peyton Hillis suffering from kidney and lung failure. He was shifted to intensive care in a hospital, where he was sedated for 10 days. A ventilator was also placed to help Hillis breathe. The ordeal has been a rough one, but after months, Hillis is continuing his road to recovery. He went on to talk about how he learned a valuable lesson that day. And that is, “You’ve got to respect the water.”

While rehabilitation from the incident continues for the retired running back, he is slowly making gradual progress. And as the progress continues, his family will be hopeful of Hillis being back to his previous health, as they try to forget the scarring incident from the past.

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