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SAN CLEMENTE, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A San Clemente man is paralyzed after he jumped into the ocean to rescue two kids caught in a rip current.
With his wife Rose by his side, Josh Collette has been in the ICU for 10 days after the accident at San Clemente’s Riviera Beach. Unable to talk, his wife Rose read her husband’s lips as he recalled what happened on Saturday.
The father of 5, a swimmer and a surfer, said he jumped into the ocean after he spotted the rip current pulling the children.
“I dove head first, and that’s my fault,” Josh said. “I should not have.”
The 42-year-old said he didn’t realize the swell and rip currents created a wall of sand before he dove in headfirst.
“I could feel myself dying,” he said. “I couldn’t breathe and they pulled me up out of the water.”
He felt his body tingle as bystanders rushed toward him and his wife started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
“We knew right away,” Rose said. “He looked at me dead in the eyes and said, ‘I broke my neck. I cannot breathe.'”
Doctors at Providence Mission Hospital said he broke two vertebrae and badly damaged his spinal cord. Josh said he can’t feel anything below his shoulders. Family members started raising money online to help him move to a Colorado facility that specializes in these types of injuries.
In the meantime, the community has stepped up to help the family by caring for the kids, delivering meals, helping with schoolwork and walking the dog.
“My spirit, my heart, is so full,” Josh said. “I’ve never felt so much love.”
Josh said he’d do it all over again to help someone in need. The children struggling in the surf got out safely.
“He’s always loved to save the day,” Rose said. “I just feel like he’s our family hero.”
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