SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A 19-year-old San Diego State University sophomore is facing a life-altering recovery after a swimming accident at Pacific Beach left him paralyzed from the chest down.
Ethan McCoy, an aspiring physical therapist who had been training for an Ironman competition next year, was swimming with friends near Crystal Pier August 30 when the accident occurred.
“He wasn’t too far out. He caught a bad wave. He remembers impacting the sandbar and remembers lying in the water. He couldn't breathe, because he was face down," said Jim McCoy, Ethan's father.
Ethan's friends pulled him from the water and got help. At the hospital, he underwent surgery for three shattered vertebrae in his neck. His spinal cord was partially severed, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.
"You can see it in his face. The devastation ... the questioning. Him knowing his life has changed, in ways he is only beginning to comprehend at this point," McCoy said.
The past three weeks have been what McCoy describes as "a rollercoaster of emotions" for the family.
"It's devastating. It’s hard to put words into it," he said. "It breaks your heart."
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his recovery, Ethan has already begun attacking his rehabilitation with the same drive he brought to athletics in high school, where he played soccer and swam.
"His moods come and go, and you would expect. But working physical therapy, you can see the drive in him. That’s always how he's been. He responded that way to his coaches," McCoy said.
Doctors have told the family that Ethan will likely never walk again, but his father says his son has set a goal of defying those odds.
"Ethan doesn't put limitations on himself; we won't do that either. We will let him dream, and go and get that dream," McCoy said.
On Friday, Ethan was flown to Chicago, where he will continue his recovery at a specialized rehabilitation facility.
A GoFundMe campaign has been established to help the family with mounting medical expenses.
