Now I really have heard it all!

There are often odd stories in the news about the crazy things that people are capable of when they have a momentary lack of judgement, but one story I read in the news this week has left me baffled. 

65 year old pensioner Susan Brown was cruising on the Marco Polo with her husband Michael and after a falling out the pair decided to cut their 32 day trip short and fly home. After disembarking the ship in Madeira the pair reportedly traveled to the airport together by taxi where they then went their separate ways and having not seen her husband around the airport for some time Mrs Brown apparently became confused about his whereabouts.

Convinced he must have gotten back on the ship, the pensioner headed out of the airport to find him. Imagine her panic as she caught sight of her ship sailing away in the distance with her husband on board, leaving her behind! This must have left Mrs Brown in a predicament. What to do? Return on the flight home as planned and wait for her husband to follow you would think? Oh no. Not Mrs Brown. She made the very brave (some would say ridiculous), if not extremely risky  decision to jump into the icy waters in an attempt to swim back to the ship to be reunited with her husband.

This decision of course turned out to be a very dangerous one, as the pensioner was pulled from the water by fisherman several hours later suffering with severe hypothermia and in their words ’30 minutes from death’, still clutching on to her beloved hand bag which as it turns out may well have just prevented her from drowning by keeping her afloat. Mrs Brown is currently being treated in hospital and it is reported that her husband, who had flown home alone after all is returning to Madeira to be reunited with his wife.

Have you ever missed your ship and did the thought ever cross your mind to jump in after it? I have to confess that I am not the strongest of swimmers, but I very much doubt swimming for my ship would have been on my list of options even if I was an Olympic Gold medalist in the backstroke. I would have enjoyed my quiet flight home and left the husband in the dog house for a few days. Of course we don’t know the full story and I imagine there is as always much more to it but thank goodness for those fisherman (and the much loved handbag) else this story would have ended with a very tragic outcome. I wish Mrs Brown all the best and a speedy recovery.