The selfie stick clearly serves many purposes.
16-year-old Erynn Johns was reportedly vacationing with her family in Nantucket, Massachusetts earlier this month when an unexpected rip current pulled her underwater, selfie stick in hand.
“I inhaled a lot of water at that point and I just I couldn’t breathe under here,” Erynn told an ABC affiliate.
Erynn had held onto her selfie stick while her father, Derrick Johns, grabbed onto the other end to keep her head above the water, according to The Huffington Post. Erynn was able to hang on to her selfie stick until a beach-goer, identified as Maryland resident Tommy Vach, got her out of the water, according to Buzzfeed.
The teenager reportedly made it to shore while volunteers rescued her parents from the waves.
After being carried back to shore, Derrick was semiconscious and had to receive medical attention, according to the Boston Globe. The experience was terrifying for the whole family.
“I was a Marine, and I’ve been in some pretty harrowing situations. That one was the scariest, because it wasn’t just me, it was my wife and my daughter,” stated Derrick.
Derrick, his wife and Erynn are reportedly all okay now.