Durham man hopes to reach Myrtle Beach beachgoers who saved his life: 'I wish I could thank them'

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's been only a few weeks since Mike and Saundra Burton learned that angels don't just exist in heaven. Some live among us.

During a weekend family vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, they headed to the ocean with other relatives. Things took a swift turn while they were there.

Saundra said she looked out at the water and saw her husband swimming one moment and then floating face down the next.

"I thought he was playing to get us closer to him so he could throw us in the water. When I continued to look I said something is not right," she said. "It's a sight I don't ever want to see again."

Mike, a swimmer, said he believed a rip current took him down.

"I jumped the first two, but the third was bigger than I thought it was. When I tried to turn to the side it hit me in the side of the head and knocked me out," he said. "I could still hear the doctors. I just couldn't respond. I guess your hearing is the last thing to go."

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The Durham couple took a photo together at their hotel before heading to the beach. It would be the only picture they took that day.

Four strangers, who were also beachgoers, were waiting on the shoreline as Burton's family pulled him from the water. They identified themselves as two doctors and two nurses.

"When we turned him over, he was very huge. He was full of water. He was very big. His eyes were open and they were gray. His arm was lifeless. He was lifeless," said Saundra.

The strangers administered CPR until they were able to rush him to the hospital where a doctor delivered the news.

"He said we had to put him on life support because he can't breathe," she said. "Our God is that kind of God that can do anything."

Mike spent a week recovering in the hospital.

When he woke up from the coma, he had to learn to walk again. This is his second week back to work as the high school sweethearts prepare for their 27th wedding anniversary. They plan to spend the day at dinner but hope this story reconnects them with those four angels.

"I wish I could thank them for saving my life. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here today," he said. " I got a second chance. Everybody don't get those."

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