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The nearly $2,600 billed to a 17-year-old lifeguard who rescued a drowning boy off the coast of Oregon is being paid by anonymous donors.
John Clark of Vancouver, Wash., a trained lifeguard, jumped through the breakers and heavy swells to reach the boy in the ocean, reported KOIN-TV. Clark then calmed the boy and kept him afloat until watercraft arrived to take them to shore.
Clark and the 12-year-old boy were taken to the hospital, which Clark thought was standard procedure.
But a few weeks later he was billed for the hospital services.
The emergency room bill came to $449. The physician's bill was $227. The 15-mile ride in the ambulance was $1,907. The total bill for saving a young man's life was nearly $2,600.
But another happy ending to the story is that two anonymous donors have agreed to pay the tab.
From an updated story by KOIN-TV:
Dan Clark, John Clark's dad, said that although the bill has not yet been paid two people have stepped forward to pay it in full.
"I've been in contact with them [the donors], and they're going to present my son with a check for the hospital," Dan Clark said. "They want to remain anonymous."
As it turns out, the full donation comes as a huge blessing to John's family—who had run into problems setting up an account for viewers to make individual donations.
KOIN's phone system was flooded Thursday morning with calls, the station reported. Offers to help came from California, Illinois, Arizona, Wisconsin, Utah, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida as this story went viral.
Many readers also emailed Yahoo to ask how to help.
It's good to know that there are people so willing to reach out and help others in need.
Just like John Clark did that day in the rough Oregon surf.