On Monday, July 4th 2011 at 1pm, Kevin, his girlfriend, Alex, and a handful of his friends headed to Mission Bay on one of his friends boats for a day of paddle boarding, swimming, eating, boating and relaxation. Mission Bay is located within the coastline of San Diego, CA.
Joel Swan, captain and friend chose to anchor the boat right on the beach to begin the afternoon of what many water lovers (like Kevin) would consider to be a perfect boat day. Kevin enjoyed his turn on a paddle board and decided to go for a swim in the waist deep sandy bottomed water. It was somewhere around 2:30-3:00 when this perfect day of celebration went horribly wrong.
Kevin while standing in waist deep water in the ocean dove down as to swim under water, somehow in the process he fractured C4-5 vertebrae and became instantly paralyzed. Kevin did not jump off the boat into the water. The only thing this friends and girl friend can think, is that a sandbar had formed with the ocean tide and he hit it going from a standing position into a dive to swim under water. A true definition of “freak” accident!
Friends noticed his irregular posture in the water and rushed to him immediately. By that time he had drowned and was unconscious. After pulling him to shore, a female bystander (a nurse) who had noticed the commotion was waiting on shore and began CPR before lifeguards and the rescue squad could get to him. (At this time we are searching for this woman, for we are so grateful to her for saving Kevin’s life).
Kevin is being treated for a shattered C4-5 at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, CA. He is currently in the Intensive Care Unit. Since the accident, Kevin has had his C4&5 replaced with an artificial vertebrae and a protective cage that was installed through surgery for stability.
Through the grace of God, Kevin has made miraculous strides since the accident on 7/4/11, he went from not being able to move his arms or legs to tapping words on an alphabet board (unable to speak due to ventilator), scratching his hand, moving his legs and writing his name with a pen. We look forward to many more improvements for Kevin during his recovery!
Kevin has a long way to go with his re-cooperation and regaining his fine motor skills in his arms and legs. Because Kevin is self-employed, the goal of the www.KevinYoungDonation.com
