WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — UNC Wilmington women’s basketball coach Nicole Woods says she’s lucky to be alive after being caught in a rip current while trying to rescue her 8-year-old nephew during a family beach outing last week.
Woods told WECT-TV she took her two children as well as her niece and nephew, both 8, to Wrightsville Beach on May 21. Her nephew waded into the Atlantic Ocean when a wave knocked him under the water. Woods says she jumped into help him, only to have the current start dragging both of them out to sea.
Woods, 41, pushed her nephew above the surface so he could breathe before she lost consciousness.
A rescue team pulled Woods and her nephew to shore. Paramedics performed CPR on Woods, then used a defibrillator to revive her. Woods says she spent at least 24 hours on a ventilator before being able to breathe on her own.
“It was a miracle,” said Woods, who described herself as a strong swimmer. “If this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”
Woods, who recently completed her third season leading the Seahawks, says doctors told her she did not sustain any brain injuries despite and has been given a clean bill of health. She is now recovering at home.
UNC Wilmington has temporarily transferred the day-to-day operations of the women’s basketball program to associate head coach Cherie Lea.