Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — After a Utah State University student broke his neck in a bodysurfing accident on a spring break trip, his family received an outpouring of support.
Matt Bowen, 24, was bodysurfing with his friends at Newport Beach Saturday when a wave drove him into the floor of the ocean, breaking the C5 vertebrae in his neck, according to his father, Gary Bowen. The accident left him paralyzed from the waist down, stuck in the ocean.
“(Matt) said he thought he was going to die. He was on his last breath and he was starting to breathe in water and he couldn’t turn himself over,” Gary Bowen said. “That’s right when his friends found him and pulled him out, so it’s kind of a miracle that they found him when they did.”
After being pulled out of the water, Matt Bowen was transported to a local hospital and taken into surgery. Initially a neurosurgeon said it would be a long shot for him to ever walk again, but the next morning another doctor revealed that the spinal cord has been compressed and bruised, but not severed.
While it could take 12 to 18 months for the bruising to heal, doctors told Gary Bowen that his son could eventually recover mobility. On Sunday, Matt Bowen reported that he could feel his legs and hands, but he is still is unable to move them. He is also battling pneumonia — the result of aspirating seawater — and can’t speak because of a breathing tube.
“This is going to be a process,” Gary Bowen said. “It’s going to be a marathon to get him back to full functionality, but I think we can get him there.”
Throughout everything, Gary Bowen said his family has been sustained by the generosity of others. He and his wife, who live in Kaysville, took the first available flight to California and were visited in the hospital by local leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who found them a place to stay and brought meals.
Less than 24 hours after its launch, a GoFundMe account* created to help cover the Bowens' medical costs raised more than $10,000. Messages of support have come from as far away as France, where Matt Bowen served a mission.
“It just kind of touches you as a dad,” Gary Bowen said. “It comforts your heart to see that big athletic kid lying in bed helpless and have hundreds and hundreds of people, of all faiths and beliefs, just praying and offering assistance and help. It’s just been absolutely incredible.”
He described his son, who is a junior in the information systems program at USU, as being happy, gregarious, energetic and athletic. Even though he needs to stay in bed to recover, Gary Bowen said his son struggled to get up Tuesday. He uses arm motions and mouths words to communicate with family.
“He’s got a lot of fight in him and if there’s any way he can do it, Matt will do it,” Gary Bowen said.
*KSL.com has not verified the accuracy of the information provided with respect to the account nor does KSL.com assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
