Two local paddleboarders helped save the life of snorkeler Chris Hutcherson, who suffered an allergic reaction to medication while in the water yards off the La Jolla Shores coast on Sunday, Sept. 27. Todd Wirths and friend Matthew Porreca were paddleboarding just south of La Jolla Shores at approximately 2 p.m. when they found the distressed Hutcherson and his wife in the water. “We heard a faint voice, ‘Hey, a little help here,’” Wirths said. “The guy was having trouble. It was like he had hit the wall and had no energy and was a little disoriented. He just wasn’t well.” “I was in trouble,” Hutcherson said. “I didn’t realize what was going on. I thought it was the snorkel gear.” Hutcherson was going through paralyzing shock as a result of the reaction. Wirths pulled Hutcherson from the water and tried to paddle back to shore, but the combined weight of the two proved too much. So Wirths decided to paddle to shore and alert lifeguards, leaving the ailing Hutcherson with his friend. On shore, Wirths ran to meet his wife Izzy Tihanyi, co-owner of Surf Diva surf school and shop, to call for help. She called lifeguards while Wirths went back into the water, he said. Minutes later, lifeguards noticed the paddleboarders waving to lifeguards help. “Lifeguards at the observation town saw a paddleboarder waiving his paddle, which is a sign of distress,” lifeguard Sgt. Troy Keach said. Lifeguards came out on personal watercraft, bringing Hutcherson, his wife and the paddleboarders back to shore. Lifeguards returned to normal patrol after Hutcherson waved them off, thinking he was fine, according to lifeguards. But he was nowhere near OK. “I said, ‘I’m fine… I’m good,’” Hutcherson said. However, Hutcherson was suffering from an allergic reaction to penicillin, doctors later told him. After sitting on the beach for a few minutes, Hutcherson tried to walk back to the couple’s vehicle and collapsed. His wife Claudia drove him to the hospital, Wirths said. He was released a short time later and contacted the local paddleboarders to thank them for what they did, according to Wirths. “I owe them a debt of gratitude,” Hutcherson said. “The doctors told me I’m lucky to be alive.” Hutcherson, a food science consultant and resident of El Monte in the Los Angeles area, said he didn’t know he was taking penicillin and that he should also have realized not to go swimming while on medication. “I’m a little embarrassed but I’m also glad to be alive,” he said.