Trans man hailed for heroic rescue after leaping into icy Chicago lake to save baby

A Chicago transgender man is being praised nationwide after jumping into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan to rescue a baby whose stroller was blown into the lake by powerful winds.

On the afternoon of 2/18, winds gusting up to 50mph pushed a stroller carrying a baby girl into the water at Belmont Harbor, according to Chicago police and the National Weather Service. Nearby, 31-year-old Lio Cundiff was sitting on a bench making a phone call when he heard the child’s mother screaming.

Realizing the stroller had gone over the edge and the mother could not reach it in time, Cundiff immediately ran and dived into the lake, where temperatures were in the mid-30s Fahrenheit. He reached the stroller while it and the infant were still facing upward, grabbed hold of both, and struggled to keep them from going under.

Cundiff estimated that he treaded water for up to four minutes, during which the baby briefly slipped beneath the surface a couple times. Another man eventually threw down his jacket, enabling Cundiff to be pulled to safety with help from the baby’s mother. Cundiff, the infant and the stroller were brought back onto solid ground.

As stated in the Guardian, separate ambulances transported Cundiff and the baby to a hospital. The child was admitted in good condition for observation, while doctors monitored Cundiff’s heart after his exposure to the freezing water. He was released within a couple of days and later learned from the baby’s family that the newborn was doing well and “really just acting like nothing happened.”

Cundiff, a server and standup comedian, has since become the focus of significant media attention. A GoFundMe campaign organized by his girlfriend and friends to help cover his medical expenses and lost wages had raised about $54,000 as of Tuesday.

As a trans man, Cundiff has also used the spotlight to speak about the humanity and dignity of transgender people at a time when anti-trans legislation and violence continue to rise across parts of the United States. Advocacy groups such as GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign have documented increasing hate crimes targeting people based on gender identity and sexual orientation, particularly in Republican-controlled states where rights and protections for trans and non-binary people have been rolled back.

“All I did was a human act,” Cundiff said. “I’m just a human who did the most human thing you could do - which is save someone who can’t save themselves. We are human, and we’re the same as everyone else. And we don’t deserve the hate that we’ve gotten.”

He added that he hopes his actions - which coincided with his 31st birthday - remind the public that transgender people are part of their communities and fully share in common values of care, courage, and responsibility.