Oklahoma nurse saves sea lion on the brink of death

OKLAHOMA CITY – Video captured an incredible rescue by a local nurse, and her son, while vacationing in California.

Anna Priest said, "I felt helpless as a nurse. I felt useless. I felt like I can save one species but I can`t save another."

For Anna saving anything was the last thing on her mind as she rounded out her summer, vacationing in California with her son.

She says nearly half way through the trip, friends they were visiting, took them off the beaten path to see what they called the real California.

It was a remote location known to be peaceful and calm but what they found was tragedy, as they came across a sea lion on the rocks, baking in the sun, dying.

"You know we came around it and its eyes were open and so I knew it was alive. It looks dead, you know you saw the video! It looks dead and I was like, we`ve got to do something, we`ve got to get it in the water." said Priest.

She said her friends said there was no hope for it and refused to help.

"It had like given up hope, you can tell and then all of the sudden it started crying," said Priest.

Since Anna is a nurse, she says her instincts kicked in and she wasn't going to give up hope.

"We were just like no were going to do something," Priest said.

So, she poured water on the sea lion's fried skin, cooling him off and eventually, he was on his flippers making his way back to sea.

Priest said, "It changed my life."

It was an unexpected lesson Anna says she will never forget.

Priest said, "I feel like we, we need to help everyone and everything. If we see a need and you know we can fill it, at least try, just try, you know?"

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