Seizures Kept Him From Swimming—So He Saved a Drowning Girl With His Drone

Jake Morrison’s epilepsy prevented him from ever becoming a lifeguard, but that didn’t stop the 24-year-old from saving a life in the most 21st-century way possible: using his drone.

While testing his camera drone at a Michigan lake, Morrison spotted 8-year-old Emily Carter struggling in deep water 300 feet offshore. “The current was pulling her under,” he recalls. With no time to reach her himself, Morrison guided his drone to drop its payload—a rescue buoy he’d modified for emergencies.

“The buoy landed right beside her,” said Emily’s tearful mother. “She held on until the Coast Guard arrived.” The invention has since been adopted by lakeside communities, proving that heroism isn’t about physical ability—it’s about creative problem-solving.