In Part 1 of this two-part episode, host Jason Quinn of The Real ResQ is joined by one of his rescue swimmer classmates, Matt Theissen, U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer 502. Theissen joined the Coast Guard because he wanted to surf and follow the waves. This didn't actually happen for him until many years into his career.

After graduating from rescue swimmer school, he went to New Orleans. Instead of talking about his first rescue, we talked about his first “duty” day. That was a busy one. He had several calls that day, his first being for a sailor who fell and injured his back. The second call was for a guy who was coughing up blood on a boat and needed to get to the hospital. His third call was a search for an overdue vessel.  

Next, we get into some of Thiessen’s other rescues. One rescue which earned him a Coast Guard Achievement Medal. He assisted another swimmer with 12 injured people in the water. He also speaks about another rescue involving a man who got wrapped up in a winch. The last rescue discussed in Part 1 is about a guy with a terribly broken arm. Enjoy!

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