Marcos sounds like a great kid. Photo: GoFundMe
In a tragic accident, a Bay Area teen was paralyzed while surfing at Bolinas Beach in Marin County, Calif. on June 29. Fifteen-year-old Marcos Ornellas was apparently riding a wave in when he jumped off his board to avoid kids participating in a surf school. He reportedly misjudged the depth of the water and hit head first, breaking his neck and snapping a vertebrae.
Ornellas was rescued by friends who got to him as he lay face down in the water.
“Marcos, a rising soccer player at Redwood and Marin FC, was surfing with friends in Bolinas when he fell off his board while riding a wave in,” reads a GoFundMe page started for Ornellas. “His friend noticed he was face down in the water and not moving. Upon turning him over, Marcos – who was thankfully still breathing – told his friend he could not feel his arms and legs. He was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Oakland where he underwent eight hours of surgery to repair a broken neck and a spinal cord injury. He spent the next 10 days in the ICU and is now in a rehab facility where he is making small but meaningful progress every day.”
Ornellas, who attends Redwood High School in Larkspur (in Marin County), might have to miss the entire school year for rehab, according to the GoFundMe page. Ornellas was on the varsity team at the school and played for Marin FC, a local club. He’d hoped to play college soccer but now has set his sights on recovery. And he’s shown positive signs.
“Marcos initially had paralysis from his neck down,” reads a GoFundMe update. “A few days after his surgery he started regaining some sensory function. Now, four weeks later, he has been gaining meaningful motor function, allowing him to move many parts of his body. He is able to sit upright in a wheelchair, and recently took his first steps on a walker with substantial assistance. Despite the long road ahead, the progress has been encouraging in such a short period of time.”
The GoFundMe page for Ornellas is currently at $113,500 of a $250,000 goal. You can donate here.
