A surfer has received an outpouring of support from his community after being paralyzed while trying to rescue a child at a San Clemente Beach.
Josh Collette, 42, grew up in Northern California and cut his teeth surfing in Santa Cruz, but moved to San Clemente three years ago with his wife Rose and five children. On August 15th, the Collettes were visiting Riviera Beach when Josh saw an eight-year-old boy struggling in a rip current and without hesitation dove into the ocean to help him.
However, though Collette had been swimming in the same area less than 30 minutes earlier, the spot was shallower than he anticipated. Josh hit his head on the bottom and broke his neck. “He basically said he felt like he hit a wall,” Rose told ABC 7. “The sand had changed because of the rip current, and so when he dove in he knew exactly what happened. There was a pile of rocks.”
Josh and the boy were pulled out of the water soon after. The boy was unharmed, but Collette was transported to Providence Mission Hospital with a severely damaged spinal cord that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Collette’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses and there has been an outpouring of support. As of writing, the donation drive has raised $465,506 of its $500,000 goal.
“I’m honestly not surprised my dad is such a hero,” Josh’s daughter Grace told NBC. “He thrives off of helping others and serving others and saving the day.”
