COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the Strickland family, what was supposed to be a day on the beach filled with fun, quickly turned into their worst nightmare.
11-year-old Aubranna was swimming in the water at Isle of Palms, South Carolina, with her two cousins when one quickly got caught in a rip current.
That's when Aubreanna said her fight or flight kicked in. "I went straight to her," she said, "I didn’t think I would get hurt, I was trying to push her to the shore."
Then she went underwater for several minutes.
“I realized it’s my child, and that's when finally from there honestly. I just kinda went into a like...time was going so fast but going so slow,” says Danielle Strickland., Aubranna's mother.
Her uncle then found Aubranna with help from a surfer.
“Once she got onto the shore the ambulance came and then she was taken to MUSC in Charleston,” Danielle Strickland says.
With prayers and life-saving doctors, her family says it’s a miracle Aubreanna is now recovering.
"I thought we were not gonna bring her home," Danielle said.
“Since we’ve been home, I haven't seen all the things they said the damage to the back of her brain might affect. I haven't seen any of that. It's god for sure, when you’re hit with facing you might not take your child home just be grateful for your kids."
Now Aubreanna is already back in the classroom.
"Yeah, I feel really good,” Aubreanna says.