LENOIR CITY, Tenn. — Brian Bresnan and Todd Bernstein said Sunday started off as just a regular day on the lake.
"We were out on my boat yesterday afternoon," Bernstein said.
However it took a turn when the two brothers spotted a swimmer who needed help.
"You could definitely see he was in some pain and that's when Brian decided to step in," Bernstein said.
His brother Brian, a former competitive swimmer and life guard, dove into the water toward the 19-year-old. The Loudon County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post both Bresnan and a man named Kenneth Baker helped out tremendously.
Bresnan said when he got to the teen, he complained of back pain. So he decided to act quickly.
"The best thing to do was to pull him into the water at that point," he said. "I was able to get two pool noodles under his back and I rocked him back and forth like this."
This went on until help finally arrived to get the young man out of the water.
"Tellico Plains Fire and Rescue came on a jet ski," Bernstein said.
The Loudon County Sheriff's Office said he was evaluated by medics, but the brothers said they would later connect with his mom for an update.
"She called and she was crying and said there was a guardian angel watching over him," Bresnan said. "He's in good spirits, I just got a text a few minutes ago saying he has a compression fracture."
While the brothers believe he will need some time to heal, they are just glad he's okay. They said having experienced this, if they could offer a little advice, they'd tell just about anyone when you see need -- do your best to fill it.
"It was a humbling experience, it was the right thing to do. You're supposed to help out when you see somebody hurting like that," Bernstein said.