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Pastimes : The New Qualcomm - write what you like thread. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (1770)	6/10/2000 11:04:00 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12231

Man rescued from suicide attempt (quite a story !) June 10, 2000 Man Rescued From Suicide Cheers Hero Filed at 4:39 a.m. EDT By The Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The moment Dale Buttenhoff jumped off a bridge to end his life, he realized he'd made a terrible mistake. Fortunately, a boat full of women who had cheated death themselves was there to save him. Buttenhoff, now in recovery from the drug addiction that drove him to attempt suicide, will cheer for his rescuers -- crew members of Pink Phoenix -- when they compete in the annual Rose Festival dragon boat races on the Willamette River today. ``They're very special people with a lot of courage,'' Buttenhoff said of the breast cancer survivors who range in age from their early 30s to late 60s. ``For the ladies to do what they did showed me that people can care, and life can be changed.'' The nine-member crew happened to be practicing on the morning of March 25, when Buttenhoff, 32, jumped off the Ross Island Bridge into the river. The women quickly moved the boat near him, hurled a tie rope and pulled him to safety. The rescue almost didn't happen. The team wasn't going to push off because it lacked the required 10 paddlers; two people volunteered, filling the gap. The crew usually heads south, but that day it stayed near the marina to work on paddling. And if Buttenhoff had not delayed his jump because of bridge traffic, the crew probably wouldn't have been nearby. ``The hand of God definitely was involved in saving this guy's life,'' said Linda Stalford, 39, who threw out the lifeline to Buttenhoff. Buttenhoff played basketball at Concordia College, served a fulfilling tour in the U.S. Air Force, and later worked a number of jobs, including as a truck driver and bartender. But after a divorce in 1993, his life took a nosedive. ``I was tired of the miserable life that I was living,'' Buttenhoff said. ``I had been using (methamphetamines) for about seven years, and during those years, I had tried recovery before but never for more than a year.'' Now, Buttenhoff said he's planning to return to school for more job training, possibly as an X-ray technician or a radio-TV production engineer. Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company