Months after former NFL running back Peyton Hillis rescued two children from drowning, he is finally sharing his terrifying story, sharing, “It is 100% a miracle that somebody didn’t die.” The incident occurred in January when Hillis and members of his family were swimming off the Pensacola, Florida, coast. Speaking with “Good Morning America,” Hillis stated the day started out fairly normal. “We woke up, and the kids were all going crazy, and I was telling my family, ‘I’m gonna take the kids down, you know, let ’em play at the beach. The night before, it was a bad storm, but you know, I didn’t really pay too much attention to it, and when I woke up the next morning, it was windy, but it was beautiful.” He also stated there were no flags posted on the beach, which are usually used to warn beachgoers of any unfavorable conditions.

 Hillis’s mother and sister-in-law accompanied them to the beach, with Hillis’s niece joining his children in swimming. Suddenly, a rip current pulled Hillis’s son and niece under the water. “I hear my mom screaming, and so, I looked at her, and she pointed out to my son, and she says, ‘Orry and Camilla are drowning,'” he recalled. Hillis immediately went into action, diving into the water with a boogie board to the two children. Hillis had to make the tough decision to pass his own son and rescue his niece, Camilla, first, as she was more clearly in danger. He was able to get Camilla on the boogie board and push her to safety, but his son was limp from exhaustion. At that moment, as he struggled to bring his son to safety, he began to pray. “Lord, please. Like, I really don’t care about my life. I don’t. But if we can get him out of here, that’s the only thing I’m going to care about,” he told co-host Michael Strahan. He managed to get his son close enough to the beach where he could walk, but eventually, Hillis lost consciousness about 20 to 30 yards from the beach.

Hillis received medical attention on the beach and was later placed on a ventilator at Pensacola Baptist Hospital, where he was airlifted. A prayer vigil was held for him at Shiloh Christian School in Arkansas, where he is from. Hillis was unconscious for 10 days and spent two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Hillis continues to have health issues. “I don’t think my lungs will ever get back to where they needed to be,” said Hillis. “Physically, it’s comin’ along okay. Mentally things [are] coming along a lot slower. I’m just tryin’ to take it one day at a time.” Hillis has a number of accomplishments to his name, including 23 touchdowns during his football career, over 1,000 receiving yards, and being on the cover of Madden NFL 12. However, he didn’t add “hero” to the list. “I call myself a dad,” he said. While both his niece and son have fully recovered, he encouraged others to be mindful of the dangers of swimming. “It’s very dangerous to just let your kids go out there and swim, especially without life jackets.”