Aaron Johnson – Sports Editor
For Southern Connecticut State University swimming captain senior Dan Elliot, the summer was going pretty well. He was coming off of another successful year on the swim team, winning the NE-10 conference title in several events, and was enjoying life as a lifeguard at Jones Beach in Long Island, N.Y. But everything changed in an instant.
“It was Hurricane Bertha that came in that morning,” Elliot said. “So we had precautions set in that day. Someone got sucked out by a rip current and I had to go get them. I ended up hitting my head on the bottom.”
Elliot had broken his neck. He broke his C6 vertebrate, crushed his C7 vertebrae, and a fragment of his C7 became lodged into his spinal cord, which left him unable to move for a few moments.
“When I hit my head on the bottom,” he said. “I actually lost feeling in my body like I was completely paralyzed for about a minute.”
Elliot, who still is wearing a neck brace, will miss this season due to the injury. He said that when the accident first happened, he was able to make it back to the beach, before being airlifted to Nassau University Medical Center.
“The first thing they told me was I would need surgery,” Elliot said. “It’s funny because the first thing I was thinking about was like swimming and getting back to school because I love it and it’s my passion.”
The road back to the pool is going to be a long and tough experience for Elliot. Recovery from the surgery is scheduled to take six weeks, and then the hard rehabilitation process begins. Four to six months is the timetable doctors gave Elliot before he is able to get back into the water. However, Elliot said that he credits his support system for giving him the strength to get through this ordeal.
“I think I had over 100 people visit me the day of the accident,” he said. “All my crew was there with me. My family was there every day. My mom was right next to me every single day. My sister was updating everyone on what was going on.”
Elliot said that the toughest part has been getting over his restlessness and limited mobility, especially the first few weeks following surgery.
“When I was able to I took two and three hour walks because that was really all I was able to do,” he said. “I have to say the support is really keeping me positive. There are days when I’m a little frustrated with things that I can’t do. But I’m definitely staying positive.”
The outpour of support has come in the fashion of text messages, phone calls, and Facebook message to Elliot from friends, family, and teammates. He said that after seeing all the support it finally hit him that he had been through something incredible traumatizing.
“When I came out of surgery and I was able to look at my phone. I checked and had so many messages. I got really emotional because it was like I really just went through this and I came out okay,” he said.
But the singular moment that Elliot said was the most emotional throughout his experience was when he was able to stand up for the first time. It was a special moment for all in the room.
“I definitely broke down the first time I stood up after surgery,” he said. “The first thing I did was hug my mom. So that was really an emotional moment for me. I’m probably going to remember that for the rest of my life.”
Photo Credit: Derek Torrellas
