They weren’t the usual big waves Scott Muir is used to riding – but just being in the ocean was a Christmas miracle.
It didn’t matter that the waves were tiny, or that he couldn’t stand up on the board. Muir, who nearly drowned and was left temporarily paralyzed following a surfing accident in Oceanside in October, was just stoked to be in the salt water once again.
Following 85 days of intense rehab at Craig Hospital, a neurorehabilitation center in Colorado, Muir is back home with his family in Capistrano Beach. And while life for the longtime pilot and Air Force veteran is going to be much different in the days ahead, following his spinal cord injury, he’s thankful for the second chance.
“Whatever you have in front of you, you have to be OK with what your life is like,” said Muir, who was joined for his recent session in the ocean by his wife, Kristen, and two kids, Quinn and Wilem, good friend Pat Luke, as well as Judah Ely, the surfer who helped pull him out of the water and saved his life.
That fateful day, Muir and Ely had befriended one another in the water, hooting and hollering for each other as they took on big, barreling waves before Muir’s wipeout happened. Ely had noticed when Muir went missing and rushed to flip over his paralyzed body and, with the help of friend Thomas Alspaugh, pulled Muir to shore.
On Sunday, Dec. 20, Ely and Muir’s support group were once again cheering the surfer on as he glided on a small wave at Doheny State Beach, lying down on his belly as he let the ocean propel the board and his body to shore.
Ely and Luke helped walk Muir out to the water, his balance still a challenge. Muir is still requiring the use of a cane.
Unsure if he would ever surf again, the moment back in the water told him he can still do what he loves – maybe not in the same way – but that’s OK, he said.
“That’s OK if that’s what it always is, I don’t care – that’s what I’ve learned,” he said. “If I’m laying down on the waves and that’s surfing, I’m OK with it. Just to be in the ocean again, the salt water – it’s where I’m supposed to be.”
The waves were tiny, but it was just good to feel the energy once again, Muir said.
“It was the smallest day you could possibly think of,” he said. “You get that flow and that little rush of speed, it was amazing to get that feeling back.”
And there was nothing better than having his family next to him in the water, cheering him on, splashing him with saltwater as he rode the wave to shore.
“It’s not often you get your first wave over again, so it was pretty special,” Muir said. “I didn’t think I’d get it again. Getting that back is a really special thing. I appreciate it so much. Until it’s all taken away from you, you don’t understand what it means. Coming home to four wetsuits hanging up in the front yard like they were before, is the best thing ever.”
Muir said his resolution for the new year is to get 1% better every day, and to be content with what he has, not comparing his current life to what he was able to do before.
And his plan is to bring that feeling of gratefulness to the water to share with other surfers.
“This whole thing has opened my eyes. Just continuing to share stoke and cheer in the line up,” Muir said. “I’m excited to go out on a busy day and make people happy in the water again.”