Teen Paralyzed in Body-Surfing Accident, Waves Termed ‘Big,’ but No Undertow

CAPE MAY – A 17-year old Baltimore, Md. teen remains in the intensive care unit at an Atlantic City hospital following a body-surfing accident that severed his spinal cord Aug. 5 at Cape May Beach Club beach. The club is on Maryland Avenue and the beach is next to the city’s Poverty Beach.
The teen had just finished his shift working in the Beach Club’s kitchen where he is a cook, when he went swimming with a friend, according to Harry Beck, Beach Club assistant manager.
“He dove into a wave that flipped him head-first into the sand. He was swimming with a friend, who happens to be a lifeguard, who managed to save him,” Beck said.
Beck said the incident happened about 4 p.m. A lifeguard tending the beach called for assistance from Cape May Beach Patrol and notified Beck. When Beck arrived, he said the teen was conscious.
Flown to Medical Center
“When I arrived, the Cape May guard was holding his neck and head straight and we began assessing him. He had feeling at his ears and shoulder blades, but nothing below that. We put him on a backboard and collared his neck and head, and he was helicoptered to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City.”
Repeated attempts to reach the family have been unsuccessful, and because the teen is a minor, the Herald is not releasing his name. According to a blog the family has established for updates, the teen remains on a “ventilator, pacemaker, food tube and numerous other lines and devices” as of Aug. 16. He had surgery but still has no feeling from the top of his chest on down. He is able to communicate using a white board.
He also developed pneumonia from the sea water he ingested during the accident, according to social media reports.
Water Condition
“I don’t think the water conditions had any effect on the accident,” said Beck, who was a member of the Cape May Beach Patrol for 26 years. “I think it was just a matter of timing. What he did has been done by myself and lots of others many times. The water hits a certain spot on your body, and the body hits the sand a certain way – it’s all a matter of timing, not water force necessarily.”
Beck said the Beach Club and Cape May Beach Patrol have a “mutual agreement” to help each other when needed. He added that he and Harry “Buzz” Mogck, captain of the Cape May Beach Patrol, started the junior lifeguard program, of which this teen had participated. It teaches participants water and beach safety, among other topics.
“Although the waves may have been big that day,” Mogck said, “there was no undertow. People were having fun.”
An undertow occurs everywhere under the shore-approaching waves while rip currents are strong and localized narrow currents occurring at certain locations along the coast.
Injuries About Same as 2014
While there are signs along the city beaches warning about a “dangerous shore break” resulting in potentially serious injuries, Mogck said this year the number of injuries has been about the same as last year.
“We’ve had about the same number of calls as last year, maybe about 50 calls,” he said, “and I have heard that it’s been the same all along the shore. We have the Delaware Bay and ocean coming together, so we have the tides and undertow at times that people need to watch out for.”
Mogck said most injuries happen to people from out of town, however, he considered this victim “local” because the victim spent his summers in the area. He had just turned 17-years-old about two weeks prior to his accident. The family hopes the teen is back in Baltimore by month’s end.
With nearly 60 lifeguards tending about 2.5 miles of city beaches daily, Mogck said he remembers a time “when there was no sand, and no lifeguards in Cape May.”
Sand and Lifeguards
Mogck has lived in Cape May his entire life, and has been a lifeguard for more than 40 years. “Before the beach replenishment project, we were losing a lot of sand. Now, we have the sand, but we also have lifeguards here to protect the beaches.”
At the Cape May Beach Club, Beck said there are two guards watching the beach, which is “average size beach, maybe 50 yards wide.” They rotate with two additional guards who tend to the in-ground pool at the club.
Spinal Cord Injuries
According to the Shepherd Center, one of the nation’s Top 10 rehabilitation hospitals rated by U.S. News & World Report for spinal cord injuries, a person with a C5 injury “will need assistance with most of the activities of daily living, but once in a power wheelchair, can move from one place to another independently.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.