SULPHUR WELL, Ky. — Amber West was trying to get children out of a stronger current Monday when she drowned in the South Fork Little Barren River, according to her stepson, Hudson Rhinehart, who witnessed the incident.

West, 34, had taken her children swimming to celebrate the birthday of her 11-year-old fraternal twins, according to her sister, Ashley West.

West and Jeremy Rhinehart had three sons together: Ryker, 6, and twins Huxley and Hendrix, who turned 11 Monday. West was also a stepmother to two of Rhinehart’s sons.

Hudson said he and the other children were swimming in water that was nearly waist-deep when one of the children went into the water to help another child get in.

The current was stronger in that area, Hudson said, and two of the children began going under.

“I ran to them but when I got there it pulled me under some too,” Hudson wrote in an account provided to Barrenside.

Hudson said West pulled him out of the current and told him to float. She then grabbed Hendrix and pulled him toward Hudson.

“Huxley grabbed his shirt and helped him float,” Hudson said.

West then turned her attention to another child, whom Hudson referred to as “Bubbie.”

“She got Bubbie and was trying to help him but he kept trying to climb up her shoulder and on top of her and the water was pulling them down too,” Hudson said.

Hudson said West got the child onto a rock above the water.

“I saw her set him on a rock so he was out of the water,” he wrote.

Hudson then climbed the bank to call 911.

“When I look again she was floating,” he said.

Hudson said West had helped him and Hendrix out of the deeper water and had gotten the other child onto the rock before she was unable to keep herself afloat.

“She saved me, Hendrix and Bubbie really fast but the water took her further down right when she put Bubbie on the rock,” Hudson said.

A law enforcement officer arrived and began performing CPR on West, Hudson said.

“He never stopped doing that until another person showed up and helped,” he wrote.

West died following the incident.

Ryker was taken to T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow before being airlifted to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville.

Ashley West said Wednesday that Ryker remains hospitalized and continues to have fluid in his lungs.

“He still has some water in there,” she said.

Ashley said Ryker is expected to return home Thursday.

The family has established two GoFundMe fundraisers to help cover expenses while they remain with Ryker during his recovery and to cover funeral expenses.

Jeremy Rhinehart, Ryker’s father and West’s longtime partner, organized one of the fundraisers and said family members are alternating time at the hospital so Ryker is not alone.

The family is making multiple trips to and from Louisville each day while also trying to care for family members at home. Missing work and the costs associated with traveling to the hospital have created additional financial strain.

Money raised will help cover gas for daily hospital trips, meals and regular household bills while family members are away from work.

Jeremy said he and West had been together since November 2014 and that her children and stepchildren were always her highest priority.

“Her kids and stepkids were without a doubt #1 in her priorities,” he said.

He said West’s actions Monday were consistent with the way she had always protected her children.

“She found a way somehow against every obstacle to save 3 kids while knowing she was at her very last moments of life,” he said. “For us that will never be anything less than a hero.”

Ashley West, who organized the other fundraiser, said she wants people to remember her sister not only for the tragedy that took her life, but for what she did for the children.

“I just want everybody to know how brave she was and how missed she is.”

The family asks those who cannot donate to consider sharing the fundraisers with others.