Swimmer sees no barrier to reaching lifeguard goal

Sable Carfield helps to buckle up a swimmer on the board, as part of the life guard certification classes at the YMCA. After 32 hours of training and lots of determination,Carfield is now a certified life guard, and hopes to put her skills to use at a job this summer. Also shown, from left, are Tasha Nelson, Carfield, Jonathan Christner, Anna Sis, and Kirstie Hiatt on the board. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette) [Click to enlarge]

"I can do anything everyone else does," she said. "It just may take me a little longer."

Born without a right arm and only a partial left arm, Sable has learned not to give up easily. Instead, she is determined to do everything she puts her mind to, including recently completing lifeguard training at the YMCA.

"I've always wanted to be a lifeguard," she said. "Swimming has come more naturally to me than anything."

Sable started taking swimming lessons when she was five, and successfully passed all eight levels of swim classes. She competed for several years on the YMCA swim team in the butterfly and breast stroke, placing ninth at the state Winter Leagues.

And now, she has added being a certified lifeguard to her achievements.

"A lot of swimming has to do with the legs," Anna Sis said, YMCA aquatic director. "She has a lot of leg strength, and you need a good kick to rescue."

Sable has learned to use her teeth and feet to do a variety of tasks, and after 32 hours of lifeguard classes, she has become proficient in all of the skills required for certification. By using only her teeth and one hand, she is dexterous enough to fit rubber gloves over her feet, cover wounds with gauze, and by using her feet, can perform CPR abdominal thrusts.

Sable is even capable of performing one of the most vital parts of life guard certification, rescue from water, Sis said. Sable uses her leg to flip over the face-down body, then supports the body with one of her legs and one hand instead of her arms. This way, she can keep the spine straight and the head above water, Sis said, which is essential to pass life guard training.

"I would feel very comfortable in hiring Sable," Sis said. "She works harder than most."

Sable doesn't like to use any adaptations, her mother, Lori, said, whether it's for the computer or the car she will be driving later this month when she turns 16.

"She can be pretty stubborn," Lori said. "But she is also very loyal to her friends and family."

Lori credits the school system and classmates for her daughter never being harassed, and said that people in McCook are so used to Sable, that "it's only the out-of-towners who stare."

A sophomore honor roll student, Sable helps her mother coach the sixth grade traveling basketball team, as well as helping her dad coach girls softball in the summer. Soccer is another sport she has played for several years on the YMCA league.

Sable's plans include attending Chadron State College, majoring in secondary education.

"There is nothing she can't do," her mother said, something Sable is proving to others, and to herself, year by year.