On Sept. 25, 2000, two years after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, 19-year-old Kevin Hines in a state of chaos and despair, attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He fell more than 220 feet to the freezing dark waters of the Pacific Ocean, slamming into it at 75 miles per hour. The fall took only 4 seconds, and no one was more surprised that he had survived than Hines himself. You see, the bridge was completed in 1937, and since that time, nearly 2,000 people are known to have jumped to their deaths. What makes Hines unique? He is the only known survivor.
The impact shattered three of his vertebrae and came within 2 millimeters of severing his spine, and yet he did not die. During his rapid descent, Hines recalled an instantaneous feeling of regret as he prayed, “God, I don’t want to die. Please help me.”
While under the water and realizing he was not dreaming, he suddenly had an overwhelming will to live. However, the weight of his clothes kept dragging him down below the surface. For what felt like an eternity, it took all of his strength to resurface for just a few seconds at a time to take a gulp of air and then he would go down again. Suddenly he felt a strange force from below pushing him upward. What in the world was under him? Only later did he learn that eyewitnesses from the bridge had seen the mystery that was keeping him afloat: a large sea lion came to his rescue by supporting his body above the water until the Coast Guard could pick him up. This true account is nearly on the level of biblical proportions, and one that we know is nothing less than a miracle.
Experiencing extreme mood swings, Hines was hearing voices telling him he was not worthy to live, and slowly he was beginning to believe them. Many people suffer from mental diseases and chemical imbalances that are not their fault. Hines battled suicidal thoughts hours before his attempt.
“I remember waking up my father early in the morning and telling him I loved him,” he has recalled. “My dad woke up with a concerned look and asked me if I was OK, to which I paused and responded yes. Shortly after, my father went back to sleep, I remember rocking myself back and forth at the side of his bed in the dark, desperately trying to come up with the words to explain how I truly felt.”