“I TURNED AROUND AND SAID, ‘I THINK THEY NEED HELP,’ AND MY SISTER WAS IN THE WATER BEFORE I COULD TURN AROUND,” RECALLS KENDRA BALDWIN AS HER SISTER WAS POSTHUMOUSLY GIVEN A MEDAL OF BRAVERY.

HALIFAX • Kendra Baldwin vividly recalls the cries for help from a group of children at the beach suddenly caught in a riptide off the west coast of Cape Breton.

“I turned around and said, ‘I think they need help,’ and my sister was in the water before I could turn around,” Baldwin said in an interview Wednesday after her sister, Anne Michelle Curtis, was posthumously awarded Nova Scotia’s Medal of Bravery.

Curtis, 45, swam into the dangerous current, rescued her nine-year-old son Harrison and another child, then swam another 60 metres to save a struggling 14-year-old boy on Aug. 2, 2015.

“He was the farther out,” Baldwin said after the ceremony at the provincial legislature. “He didn’t have any flotation device ... It was kind of chaotic that day because there were so many people in the water and riptide came up so fast.”

Baldwin, who was also in the water helping children to shore, said she noticed there was something wrong with her sister, who had long been a strong swimmer.

“I swam over to her and I said, ‘We can do this.’ But as we got closer to shore, she collapsed.”

On Wednesday, Baldwin recalled how her sister, a palliative care nurse, defined her life through helping others.

“She gave of herself every day in her career,” she said. “She was very selfless. That’s how she lived her life. She always thought of other people first ... And that’s why there was no hesitation for her that day.”

She also recalled how her sister loved swimming and being around other people when the two were growing up in New Waterford, N.S. Curtis coached soccer teams and took professional development courses to ensure she was offering her patients the best care, Baldwin said.

Baldwin said Wednesday’s ceremony was bittersweet for her family.

“I think she would be very honoured to receive the award,” Baldwin said, sobbing between breaths. “But for us it’s hard because ... she’s not here. And we miss her.”

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil was overcome with emotion when he spoke of Curtis’s act of courage.

“We are, as a province, grateful to honour and recognize her selfless giving. She gave the ultimate, which was her own life, to ensure that three young people had a future.”

McNeil presented the Medal of Bravery to Curtis’s husband, Karl, who had spoken to the premier earlier.

“When I was talking to Karl, his response was, ‘Well, at least three young people will have a future.’ Even though I never met Anne, I’m absolutely certain that as she looks down over us, that would have been her response.”

Baldwin later said the premier was probably right.

“That’s what she would have wanted. She would have given her life 10 times over to save those kids — and wouldn’t have even hesitated.”