Why my patronus is a bald eagle

In 1995, I nearly drowned while canoeing on the Delaware River. It all happened so fast that I didn't even have time to pray. My canoe flipped, and suddenly I was pinned against a log. As I fought for my life, bracing myself against the branches of a log as a fierce current pulled against me, I felt an incredible sense of peace. A baptism of warm water covered me. No matter how things turned out, I knew I would be OK. God was with me.

Two guys showed up out of no where from an unpopulated island to haul me out. I've looked on Google maps, and there isn't a single house or other structure on that island (called Minisink Island). Their presence was nothing short of miraculous. One of the men walked out on the log, and with the sun behind him, his head was surrounded by light. Everything got quiet. His voice spoke directly to me, saying "it's going to be all right."

How he pulled me out, I'll never know, because "strainers" (submerged logs) are absolutely deadly to paddlers. The current is unimaginable. I later heard a story of a canoeist who had a similar accident. Two strong men couldn't pull her out. And this guy just pulled me out by the neck of my life jacket. They were just two country men, scruffy and grubby. The one who pulled me out, well, I wound up with my head under his armpit. And he stank. I don't know whether angels can stink or whether this guy was just inspired and empowered by God to help me.

After I was hauled out, the men left. As I waited for them to return with my canoe, a bald eagle appeared out of nowhere -- as if to confirm that my rescue was not mere chance. And then the eagle took off in front of me. And that's why my patronus is a bald eagle.