When 17-year-old John Clark jumped into the Pacific Ocean to save a drowning boy from certain death, he wasn't thinking about himself, or the hospital bill that would follow the daring rescue.
The Washington Eagle Scout was able to get to the 12-year-old boy, calming him down and keeping him afloat until rescuers arrived.
The two were shuffled off to the hospital to recover, but no good deed goes unpunished: John was slapped with a $2,700 bill for the emergency room visit.
The youngest of nine children, John had just finished his lifeguard training at the Firstenburg Community Center pool in Vancouver. He said he wasn't trained for open water rescue, but when he heard the boy's cries, he couldn't just stand by and watch him drown.
'One thing they taught us is "If you don't know, go,"' he said to KOIN.
When he reached the boy, the swells at Rockaway beach were so strong that the two bobbed up and down from the ocean floor, John clinging to the child.
'I don't know exactly how big the swells were,' John said, 'but they were big enough to push both of us underwater - all the way down to where we were touching sand.'
Emergency responders reached them on jet skis and pulled them to safety. John complained of a headache so they rushed him to the hospital.
Fine Print: The emergency room visit cost $449, the physician's bill $277 and the ambulance ride $2,007 'I am extremely proud of him,' his father, Dan Clark, told KOIN. 'When we got the bill it was a shock.'
'I had a feeling there would be a bill,' John said. 'But I didn't know how much it would be, and I kind of feel bad for the fact that it's so expensive.'
The Hudson's Bay senior said that he doesn't regret his good deed, though is family is struggling to find a way to pay the bill.
'I couldn't just let the kid go,' he said. 'I had to do something.'
TXT 24
Twitter
Facebook