POMPANO BEACH, FL -- He never thought he'd make it out alive.But little did he know there were a few special people
Around who wouldn't have it any other way?
Meet a "surfing survivor” and the men who gave him a second chance.
Scotty Shaw remembers the day back in march when a surfing accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.
He was surfing just south of the pompano pier when he fell and his head on the sandbar.
"I was laying face down in the water...not being able to move, trying to but then I'm like oh boy and that when I started praying"
"Next thing you know, that prayer got answered and Chris was dragging me out of the water. I couldn't move to let him know that I was conscience I was just looking out of the corner of my eyes trying to let him see my eyes were open and I remember him yelling at me 'don't you die on me!' "
Chris Beeman, Scotty's best friend recounts "I dragged him to shore which was 30 or 40 feet got him up on the beach and pretty much just kept doing the Heimlich maneuver kept trying to see if I can get some sort of response out of him, you know, his eyes were wide open, a blank expression on his face ... to be honest with you, I thought he was dead."
Michael Hohl of Pompano Beach Fire Rescue states "The first lifeguard on the scene was one of our lifeguards Casey Kootte and then Lieutenant Serkorski with the rest of the crew that was on duty that day and they initially found the patient conscious, but he was unable to move his arms and his legs."
Beeman recalls "He went in as a quadriplegic and you know I know Scotty said that the doctors were telling him he was going to be ok but behind the scenes they were telling us he may never walk again."
After being paralyzed by his surfing accident just five short months later, Scotty's recovery has been nothing short of remarkable.
Thanks to months of physical therapy, Scotty is able to walk and do most things for himself.
He still has a ways to go but can't wait to get back in the water.
I wanna surf! Because, if I can surf, I can do everything I did before.
A surfer, a best friend, and quick acting Ocean Rescue...three heroes...
But to Scotty the biggest heroes of all are members of the surf community, who've supported him financially. And allowed him to focus on getting back on his feet and his board!
If you' like to help Scotty--Check out the "Scotty will surf again" web page
