To a grieving Ontario family, Woody Wudkevich is a hero – but he doesn’t feel that way.
The Nelson, B.C. shop owner was on a family vacation in Cuba last week when he saw 40-year-old Yue Liu and his seven-year-old son Connor get caught in a strong ocean current.
Wudkevich ran into the water to help.
“Connor was the closest one to me and he was on his back but he wasn’t doing very well,” Wudkevich told CTV News. “I managed to grab him and I looked to see his dad and a wave had taken him further away.”
He carried Connor to safety as others swam out to rescue Liu. On the shore, Wudkevich found mom Fanyan Bu crying and praying that her husband would survive.
“I said he would be OK,” Wudkevich said, holding back tears. “That’s all I could tell her.”
Tragically, by the time tourists pulled Liu’s body from the water, it was too late. He couldn’t be revived.
Bu called Wudkevich a hero for rescuing her son, praise he can’t accept knowing what her family has lost.
On Tuesday, the Ottawa mother said Connor has been traumatized by the experience.
“He cried a lot,” she said. “I said ‘no, your father is in heaven because he did things. If you are happy, your father will be happy in heaven.’”
The Ottawa Chinese community is raising money to help the grieving family bring Liu’s body home and pay for funeral costs. About $20,000 was raised in the first 24 hours, according to one supporter.
Anyone who wants to donate to the cause can do so online.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Shannon Paterson
