Wyoming Student To Get Diploma From Deputy Who Saved His Life

When David Lew gets his Rock Springs High School diploma on May 27, it will be given to him by a man who made it possible by saving his life.

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That's Detective Sgt. Jeff Sheaman of the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office.

The Pair First Met Under Potentially Fatal Circumstances In 2010

The two first met on a stormy night in 2010 when David, then just three years old was stranded in a boat on Flaming Gorge Reservoir. When Sheaman reached the boat, he says the toddler was limp, blue and slipping into hypothermia.

According to a release from the sheriff's office ''Acting on instinct, Sheaman wrapped the toddler in his coat and held him against his chest to share body warmth, keeping the child alive until paramedics arrived. It was a lifesaving embrace that would forever bond them, though they went their separate ways after that harrowing night.''

David Lew doesn't remember the night due to his age at the time. But he is well aware of what happened, having heard the story from his family many times.

To say thank you, David recently wrote a letter to Sheaman to thank him. It was an actual handwritten letter, the kind you don't see much any more. It added a personal, heartfelt quality that might have been lost in an email.

He also asked Sheaman to present him with his diploma at the Roc k Springs High school graduation  ceremonies on May 27.

That meant a lot to Sheaman. The lawman had recently been thinking about another young life that had ended tragically when Sheaman was early in his career in Rawlins.

“In this line of work, you see a lot—some of it good, some of it crazy, and some of it heartbreaking,” Sheaman said. “David reminds me of the good we can do. His letter came at just the right time for me.