Updated September 25, 2025 at 2:27 PM EDT
This story is part of the My Unsung Hero series, from the Hidden Brain team. It features stories of people whose kindness left a lasting impression on someone else.
A few years ago, Julie Moore traveled to Mexico for a vacation with a friend and her friend's family. One day, they went to a hot springs resort. Moore luxuriated in the warm and murky waters, which were rich in minerals.
Then, the group decided to go down the resort's water slide. Moore climbed up the ladder to the balcony at the top and looked down. The slide was about 20 feet tall, with two large curves.
"It was my turn and I pushed off," Moore recalled. "As I came around one of the curves, I kind of flew up off of the slide."
Moore heard people in the pool gasp before she hit the water. Then, she felt herself sinking. She had become so disoriented from the curves of the slide that she couldn't tell which way was up or down. The mineral waters — previously therapeutic — now clouded her vision. She couldn't push off the slick bottom of the pool.
"I realized I was down there for too long and I couldn't breathe," Moore recalled.
Moore got increasingly desperate. She couldn't last any longer — she had to take a breath.
"And I thought, 'No. I'm not ready to die. I don't want to die like this.'"
As she was starting to lose consciousness, Moore felt hands grab her and pull. Her eyes opened and she could see herself approaching the sunlight.
"When I broke through the surface of the water, I leaned over and let the water drain out of my mouth and I coughed," Moore said. "I was just gasping."
The hands that rescued Moore guided her over to her friend's family. She tried to breathe. People around her asked her in Spanish and English if she was all right. Eventually, she collected herself.
"I looked around and I tried to figure out who had brought me up, but I don't know who it was. They were angels, as far as I can tell, that had reached down and pulled me out of the water and saved my life."
My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes are released every Tuesday. To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
Copyright 2025 NPR