ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta man who was paralyzed in a bizarre incident while on his honeymoon in Hawaii, is now back home in Georgia.
The family of Brendan Town sent Channel 2′s Tom Jones a picture of Brendan in his hospital bed here in Atlanta at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Town says he and his wife, Cho, were enjoying the breathtaking waterfalls and soothing sounds of the ocean in Oahu and surrounding islands when things took a traumatic turn.
Two days before he and his wife were set to head back to East Point, Brendan suffered a non-traumatic injury.
It all began when Brendan took surfing lessons and surfed for the first time. He was in the water for a couple of hours lying on his surfboard, waiting for a wave. Then, at his instructor’s direction, he would pop up and ride the wave.
He had no idea what that was doing to his body.
“I think that is what extended the back and hurt the spine,” Town said.
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He felt pain in his back, but at first, he ignored it. Then, a couple of hours later while he and Cho were having lunch, he lost feeling in his legs. He couldn’t walk.
Doctors diagnosed his injury as Surfer’s Myelopathy. There have only been about 60 documented cases of the rare condition.
“There’s really not that many documented cases,” he said.
Brendan needed special accommodations for the 9-hour flight home.
Through it all, he keeps a positive attitude. He told Jones last week that he’s more worried about his wife than himself. The couple are expecting and announced recently that they are having a baby boy.
While in Hawaii, Brendan has getting therapy in Honolulu after getting released from the ICU. In a post on his GoFundMe account, he says he’s working hard at physical therapy and getting ready for the baby.
“Gaining some sensation in the legs. Still not able to wiggle my little piggies yet, but I’m hopeful. Been reading more on baby books right now to prepare myself for upcoming parenthood,” he said.
CLICK HERE to donate to his GoFundMe account.
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