Surfer 'completely paralysed' after 'unlucky wipeout' at Aussie beach
The tragic accident left the 58-year-old a 'complete paraplegic', unable to move or feel anything from his armpits down.
It was just another day for thrill seeker Dean Amos when he kissed his wife goodbye and headed off for a morning surf. It was Australia Day and so the beach — Secret Harbour in Perth — was buzzing with scores of surfers hitting the waves.
But hours later, Becky recalled seeing several missed calls on her phone from her husband's number and instantly feared the worst. "I knew it was serious," she told Yahoo News Australia.
The 58-year-old was in the ocean when he got dumped and landed head-first onto a shallow sand bar. He remained face down in the water and unable to move so he held his breath until another wave flipped him over.
He didn't know it at the time but the impact dislocated and broke his neck, instantly paralysing him. Other surfers rushed to his aid and floated him back to shore before lifeguards jumped in to help. Using Dean's phone, one of them called Becky to inform her that there'd been an accident involving her husband, and she knew right away "there was something seriously wrong".
"I didn't panic, I just asked 'is there any loss of feeling' and he said 'some'," she explained. "But what he didn't say was that he was paralysed, completely paralysed from the armpits down. So I rushed to ED and saw him briefly before he went into surgery".
Surfer unlikely to walk again: 'Really severe injury'
Like Becky, Dean has always enjoyed a range of outdoor activities. He was a keen open-water swimmer, surfer, stand-up paddleboarder, snowboarder, mountain bike and motorbike rider. He also loved ballroom dancing and yoga. However, the accident means he'll likely never walk again.
His heartbroken wife said his spinal cord "suffered crushing, haemorrhage and swelling across a pretty large area" and is considered "a really severe injury".
"It's a complete spinal injury and it'd be a miracle if he regained any movement below the site of the injury [his armpits]," she explained. "It's something like a three per cent chance of being able to walk again."
"The first thing he said was, I'm so sorry. I told him it wasn't his fault and that it was an accident," she continued. "He was just surfing his local beach, it was surf that he had been out before. It was just a really unlucky wipeout."
'He would do anything to have that life back'
The couple, who married less than a year ago, realise their "life has changed forever," a notion they're trying desperately to come to terms with.
"There's a lot of grief and sadness. He's trying immensely hard to be positive and to reframe it in his head, and some days are better than others," Becky said.
"I know people that are wheelchair users and have very fulfilling lives, but there's a lot of things that we used to do together that just aren't going to be possible. He would do anything to have that life back".
'Major works' required to make home suitable for new life
The last couple of months have been a whirlwind, Becky admitted. The couple not long ago bought a 1970s home with plans to renovate it. What they hadn't factored in was making it accessible for a wheelchair user.
"We've got to widen the doorways and the bathroom that's there, it's not usable for a wheelchair user. We can't get a chair in there," she said. "We also need to take down a wall to put the two rooms together so that we can have a big wet room, it's such major works"
The couple estimates the work will total more than $100,000 which will cover the cost of plumbing and electrics, widening doorways, an accessible kitchen, bathroom replacement and hard flooring for wheelchairs — but that doesn't include things like hoists, wheelchairs and vehicle modifications. A GoFundMe has been set up for the newlyweds to help.
"He has always set himself incredible challenges" and this is just another one, said Becky.
"He's cycled in the Alps and he's cycled from Sydney to Adelaide because he could, to raise money for a local children's hospital," she revealed.
"A couple of my friends are absolutely convinced that he's going to walk again. Even if it's aided with a frame or with crutches. They're convinced, and I'm with them".
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