OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — A surfing accident in September left Scott Muir temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. Three months later, he's walking again and back in the water — a recovery described as a "miracle" by the teenager who saved his life.
“For me, the biggest thing was not being scared to fail," said Scott Muir. "I wasn't worried about that because I was given a second chance in this whole thing because I thought I was dead."
ABC 10News was there in the hospital with Muir just days after his injury, bedridden with a broken neck, hardly any movement in his body.
At that point, it was hard to tell what the rest of his life would look like.
Right by his side was Judah Ely, maybe the only reason Muir has a life at all.
“When the whole thing first went down, you know, we were all thinking this could be permanent," Ely said.
Muir, 41, and Ely, 19, met on September 28th surfing Del Mar Jetties (DMJs) on the Camp Pendleton side of the Oceanside Harbor.
A 22-year age gap between the two — maybe it was fate.
Muir got flipped by a wave and hit his head on the sand underwater.
"I heard a crunch in my neck and really quickly realized like can't move," Muir said.
Ely swam to Muir and pulled him ashore.
"I just looked at him and just said, ' You saved my life. Like there was no doubt," Muir said.
Within 45 minutes, Muir was at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for emergency spinal fusion surgery. After a week and a half, he could only move a few fingers and one foot.
Muir was then airlifted to Craig Hospital, a specialized neurorehabilitation center in Colorado.
"The only things you have control over are effort and attitude, and that's it," Muir said. "Everything else is kind of out of your hands. If you can max out your effort and be positive about it, all sorts of things can happen."
That positivity pushed Muir to a point that seemed almost impossible.
On December 14 — just 77 days after being paralyzed from the neck down — Muir walked out of the facility on his own, with minor assistance from crutches.
"It's a little lurchy back and forth, you know, and I look like Frankenstein, but that's part of the process is just learning to walk again," Muir said.
Last week, Muir returned to the ocean where he lives in Dana Point and caught his first wave since the accident, albeit on his stomach.
"I rewatch that video all the time of everyone hooting and hollering and just like remembering that feeling of like, oh yeah, I can do this again," Muir said.
He did so with Ely right back there by his side. Muir didn't just regain his ability to move — he gained a friend for life.
"He was over for Christmas dinner. I mean, he's part of the family now," Muir said.
A GoFundMe created after Muir's injury has raised more than $230,000 to help with medical expenses.
“I have been motivated by that, just intense love that I felt through this whole thing and every step of the way," Muir said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
