A FATHER of four has spoken of how he was “thrown around like a rag doll” after getting into difficulty while swimming in Bundoran, County Donegal, at the weekend. 
Mervyn Mills from Trillick, who suffers from a number of health issues, said he was overcome by water after losing power in both of his legs and thought he was going to die.
Mr. Mills, who once cut off a gangrenous toe with a hammer and chisel, had got into the water in the hope of benefitting from the seaweed as it he understood it to be “very good for the body.” 
“I was certain I was going to die. I had gone out further than I thought and when I started to come in the current washed me out. I was about 10 feet deep in water, the whole body was covered. 
“When I tried to get in the current was going one way, the waves were going the other way so it was tossing me around and around, I was totally under the water,” he told The Impartial Reporter.
Mr. Mills said he “desperately” tried to get into shallow water. 
“I was taking in too much water, I could hardly breathe,” he said. 
The 63 year old, who can only do the breaststroke, could not compete with the fast moving water. 
“It was bringing me down and as a result my swimming shorts were washed completely off me. I was completely naked, totally naked.
“I made a last desperate effort with the aid of the waves to get in, I swam in another wee bit and had to go on my hands and knees for about three or four feet. Eventually I crawled into shallow water and collapsed over on my back,” he said.
While he lay on the beach, two men approached him and offered assistance. “One man lifted my walking sticks, another man lifted my shorts and put them on me,” he said. 
Mr. Mills said he is “so grateful” to the two men who helped and wants to find them. “One said he was from Fermanagh. I would like to meet them and give them a proper thanks ,” he said.
And he has this advice for anyone thinking of swimming in the sea: “Don’t do what I did and if you do don’t go swimming alone.”