Coen Gaddes at Wollongong Hospital | August 2, 2024 | Illawarra Mercury - video Dailymotion

Illawarra Mercury

LISTEN: Coen Gaddes speaking from his bed at Wollongong Hospital on August 1, 2024 after a massive wipeout almost ended his life in Shellharbour on July 30. Video by Robert Peet

Transcript

00:00Do you remember what happened? Yeah, I remember it clear as day, didn't get knocked unconscious at all.

00:06What was the surf like? When you were standing there, before you went out, were you like nervous, excited?

00:11Nah, I was just excited, knocked off work, I woke up in Kernels, I was driving back home and the boys were like jamming out,

00:19they were like yeah, it's fire and it's pretty big, but I've been out there numerous times, like bigger than that.

00:27I've surfed more dangerous waves, it was just a bit of a freak accident what happened.

00:32What was I, I got like maybe four waves? Yeah, I was just like feeling heaps pumped up, drowning, pumping through me,

00:41but as I got those four waves, it was like getting later and later and the tide kept getting higher,

00:46so the bombing wasn't really like working too well, so the waves started to get more full and I just got too impatient with the one that I went.

00:57Just took off, thought I could like come down and backdoor it.

01:00What does that mean for people who have not surfed, that might break this?

01:04So yeah, like the bombing section breaks and then as it like hit the reef, it started like peaking up a bit,

01:11and I started to like sort of go barrel over, but I was like too far and I lost too much speed as I dropped,

01:17went through the barrel, I was still in it for a bit surprisingly, like punched through it a bit,

01:22and then the bottom of the barrel just dropped out.

01:24It's thrown me over once and the second time is when it happened, it threw me over again,

01:30but I was, first I was going on my bum first, I'm like sweet, I'm going to lean on my little black bum or whatever,

01:37and then last minute for some reason it just flipped my head first, I didn't have time to put my hands out or anything,

01:42it just straightened to the reef.

01:45Yeah, just smack bang straight in the front there, I don't know how I didn't snap my neck,

01:49it's f***ing terrible because it made a massive crack noise and yeah, so when that happened I'm like,

01:56I've just snapped my neck, I'm going to drown, but then luckily I still had feeling in my arms and legs,

02:01so I just swam straight to the surface and then when that happened.

02:05Because you were underwater?

02:06Yeah, I was underwater, yeah.

02:07Oh my god.

02:08Yeah, so I'm getting washed around after the wave and then popped back up,

02:12and then I've just touched my forehead and just felt my skull, just bare skull,

02:17and my skin was all like jagged and shit, and I looked at my hand and I'm like,

02:21f*** I'm going to get in, if I don't get in soon I'm going to bleed out and pass out or I'm going to go into shock.

02:27Did not look for my board at all because like I say, I've grown up around the ocean my whole life,

02:35in that moment, I'm an experienced freediver, I'm okay to swim in conditions like that,

02:42I just didn't bother looking for my board, I just started floating in with the current,

02:45and thankfully it was bringing me in quite quickly towards the last bay there,

02:49which helped a lot in my favour, because if I had to swim that, it probably wouldn't have been that good.

02:55So that's what happened, so then I kept copping a few waves on the head,

02:58it was pushing me down, and every time I'd just get washing machined and then swim to the surface,

03:04and then I'd open my eyes and there was just orange water everywhere,

03:08but yeah, it wasn't a good sight and I started to freak and I'm like f*** this is probably it,

03:12I'm probably going to bleed out.

03:15Yeah, but then luckily enough, as I started getting really close to the rocks,

03:20my arms and legs started getting really weak, so I knew I was starting to lose blood,

03:25I'm like f*** this is probably going to be, not to sound dramatic or anything,

03:28but I'm like yeah, this might be it, but then luckily there was another boy there that came,

03:33just arrived at the right time, he threw me his board, which gave me enough time to jump up on the board,

03:39I got to put my hand on my head and stop the bleeding for a little bit, catch my breath,

03:44and then I could finally make the burst to jump, swim just to the rock there and climb up,

03:50and then my mate was standing there waiting for me, and then he walked me over to the rocks,

03:56and yeah, they walked me up to the top and just sat me down,

03:59and just straight away one of the local boys chucked his hoodie around my head.

04:04By the time I got to the rocks, an ambulance was already on their way, which it was, which was great.

04:08Yeah, someone told me they heard you say it.

04:10Yeah, yeah, no, it was really good.

04:12You've got such a calm presence of mind though, to be thinking steps ahead,

04:16like you're not just sitting there waiting to get to shore, you're like okay, and then I'm going to need an ambulance.

04:21Yeah, I knew, which is surprising, because usually in times like that my anxiety really will kick in,

04:26and I'll probably just freak out, but I'm like nah, you can't do this right now,

04:29otherwise you're going to bleed out and you're going to cark it.

04:32So yeah, I just decided to take every step calculated, so yeah, just done what I could.

04:39Oh my gosh.

04:40Yeah, and like I say, I've surfed so many more dangerous waves in that wave,

04:45I've surfed in way bigger surf than that, or bodyboard in way bigger surf than that.

04:51It was just, like I say, a freak accident.

04:55It was just the last moment, just spun me head first, and I just didn't have time to put my hand out.

05:00It just must have been the one rock or whatever that didn't have kanji or whatever on it, just solid rock, just crunch.

05:06Gosh, you've got a good presence of mind to be so calm and thinking steps ahead of what you need to do to get yourself out of that.

05:13Yeah, there was a few moments out there where I was like, yeah, this isn't good, but um...

05:18But you thought that was it?

05:20Yeah, 100%. Yeah, like I thought I was just losing too much blood.

05:23Like I say, my legs and my arms were just feeling weak.

05:26I thought I was going to go into shock, definitely.

05:29I don't know how I didn't snap my neck. That's the one miracle I don't know.

05:34The noise it made, and the impact I hit my head.

05:38Yeah, I don't know how I didn't snap my neck.

05:40I saw your parents rush down as well.

05:43I'm sure you gave them a little heart attack.

05:46Yeah, mum was freaking.

05:49When it happened, my mate's missus was there.

05:52She was like, who do I call? I'm like, don't call mum, don't call mum.

05:55So then she's called dad's phone, but mum's picked up dad's phone.

05:59Oh my gosh.

06:01She was there freaking.

06:03Wow.

06:05Yeah, it happens.

06:07Does it make you hesitant to go back in there?

06:10No, like I say, it was just so unlucky what happened.

06:13The way I just got thrown over.

06:16Yep.

Coen Gaddes at Wollongong Hospital | August 2, 2024 | Illawarra Mercury

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