August• 2017 | 37READER’S DIGESTSaimaa had often nagged him about
taking up yoga. He’d always insisted
that after ten minutes he was bored.
Now, his arched back was screaming
and his arms were throbbing.How
long has someone stayed in an upward
dog position before?he wondered. It
was best not to think about the pain.
Asthetimedraggedonandthe
excavator continued to slowly sink,
Danielfeltaslowrisingpanic,made
worsewhenherememberedthatrain
wasforecastthatday.Just20mm
wouldbeenoughtokillhim.He
couldfightforhours,buttherewere
some things over which he had no
control.
Buttherewasnousedwellingon
them,hetoldhimself.Ifhecouldstay
calmandmakegooddecisions,he
wouldhaveareasonablechanceof
staying alive.
At times the emotions would well
up and he’d laugh hysterically. Was he
really going to die in the mud at the
bottom of his own dam? But then he’d
calm himself, breathe through his
nose and get back to counting.
The engine continued to softly tick.B
y what must have been around
2.30pm, staying alive had
become almost robotic. Breathe,
count, stay calm. Daniel’s ears were
full of water and oil, and he could only
just hear the engine ticking. He had
no idea where the neighbours were,
but he was getting tired. He would
have to start calling for help. He’d giveit another few blocks of 60 seconds
and then have a go.
At the appointed time, Daniel sum-
moned all the strength he had left to
push himself high enough out of the
water to clear his mouth. He yelled at
the top of his lungs for ten minutes.
“Help, help, help!”
Shouting was exhausting. He
stopped, full of adrenalin, bursting
with anger. He struggled to free his
pelvis, furious no-one could hear him.
Then, out of the corner of his eye,
he caught a movement. He turned
his head and, sure enough, he could
make out his neighbour Mel’s blue
sedan approaching along the drive-
way. He imagined her parking her car,
getting out and looking around. He
pushed himself up and yelled again.
There she was, running round the
corner with her phone in her hand.
That was when he knew.Thank
God. You’re going to live, man.
Mel rushed down to the edge of the
dam. “What do I do?” she cried.
Daniel pushed his mouth out again.
“Ring Reg, get the neighbours!” he
shouted, then resumed his position.
The nearest emergency services
were 30 minutes away in Forster but
Reg, another neighbour, was close
by. Within minutes he arrived and
jumped into the dam to hold Dan-
iel’s head. Another neighbour who’d
been alerted by Mel arrived and ran
to fetch a snorkel from the house, but
it was impossible for Daniel to breathe
through it.