This world is a better place because of people like young Hanna Pignato who proved once again that not all heroes wear capes. This 19-year-old lady didn’t hesitate even a bit when she found herself in a situation where she could offer help and try save another person’s life.
While she was at work, on the rooftop deck of Joe’s Crab Shack in Daytona Beach on Saturday, she recalls she heard someone screaming and desperately asking for help. She could see a group of people gathered around a terrified mother whose son got stranded from his boogie board and was caught in a strong rip tide.
“I saw the mom screaming and crying. Just hearing her wail terrified me. Then I saw the little boy … his head just kept going down,” Hanna Pignato told Daytona Beach News-Journal.
None of the onlookers actually tried saving the drowning boy, but Hanna couldn’t just stay there and do nothing, so she threw off her shoes and jumped off the pier.
She was confident in her swimming skills and was brave enough to take things into her hands.
Unfortunately, just as she dove in, something awful happened. According to WESH, Hanna hit a sandbar and got fractures in her right foot and her back. But despite being in terrible pain, she didn’t stop swimming.
“I didn’t want the baby to die. He wasn’t a baby, he was 7 years old, 8 years old, but still I mean, that’s a human life — you just can’t look at that and walk away”, Hanna said.
She only headed towards the beach after she saw a man grabbing the drowning boy. It took her every ounce of strength she possessed to drag herself out of the water.
But this lady is fierce and says she doesn’t regret her decision of lending a helping hand to someone in need of help.
She’s currently staying at the hospital because of the injuries she suffered. Her mother Heather Pignato said how her daughter broke her right foot in three places when she leaped off the pier.
Her injuries aren’t minor, but she’s aware they could be much worse. But all she cares about is that the boy is now safe and sound.
“She had surgery on her foot this morning,” Heather told Palm Beach Post. “I’m just glad she won’t need surgery on her back.”
Hanna’s family set up a GoFundMe page to help this brave lady with the medical costs, because she doesn’t have health insurance. Her recovery may take a while, but her courageous act will be remembered forever.
People are praising Hanna for what she did, because not everyone is ready to risk their own life for the sake of saving another’s. Her family is very proud of her. And we have to say that her mother raised her right.
“She kept saying ‘I’m sorry, don’t be mad at me’ and I said ‘Hanna, you tried to save someone,’” Heather Pignato said.
We pray for Hanna’s quick recovery and we are so glad kind-hearted people like her still exist, because stories like this restore our faith in humanity and remind us that not everything is as bad as it seems.
Thank you young lady, you showed the world what life is all about, and that’s caring for the others and offering help when needed.