On Thursday Sept 16th, 2021 Ron Edeal went for one more swim at the beach in Santa Cruz, CA before heading back home Friday to South Lake Tahoe after evacuating because of the fires.
A rogue wave caught him and slammed him into the ground, crushing 3 of his vertebrae. His head was under water, and he could not move his neck or arms. After holding his breath as long as he could, he started breathing in salt water. Somebody pulled him out in time so he didn't drown.
He was life flighted to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Trauma Intensive Care Unit (TICU) . He was in ICU for about a week, then finally upgraded to the Rehab Center in the same hospital. He can move his left arm & leg, and can feed himself left handed. His right arm & leg have a way to go to get the same mobility. It is not known yet how much mobility he will gain back. He's got a lot of work ahead of him.
He is scheduled to be released from the Rehab Unit in late October to stay at one of our local homes while he continues his rehabilitation. This could be months in duration. We don't know for certain yet.
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