Those familiar with Ocean Beach know it can get heavy. Mike Parsons knows this all too well. Photo: Paul Ferraris
Mike Parsons almost drowned after a brutal fall in Ocean Beach, San Francisco last Sunday. Fortunately, he is expected to make a full recovery as a nearby surfer was able to swim him to shore after witnessing the wipeout. The big wave surfer and XXL winner cracked the C7 vertebrae in his neck and is expected to wear a neck brace for the next six weeks.
Parsons explained to Surfline, “It felt like I was paralyzed under water. I had that crazy tingly feeling. My right arm worked a little bit, but it felt like it was dangling; like it had been ripped off my body ’cause I had no feeling.”
Parsons, a decorated big wave surfer, was wearing a specially designed flotation device underneath his wetsuit. When he did finally re-surface, the whiplash had made his body go numb prohibiting him from getting back on his board. Charlie Vaughn, a near by surfer, saw Parsons struggling and helped him to shore.
Thanks to a good Samaritan and flotation devices, Parsons will be charging again soon.
