'Mama, don't freak out. It's Daddy.' Jeff Hogan's wife recalls his surfing accident
On July 28, WRAL anchor Jeff Hogan was badly injured in a surfing accident while on vacation at Wrightsville Beach with his family.
He had to be rescued from the water and has spent the last two weeks learning how to move normally again after suffering a spinal cord injury.
Now, as Jeff heals, his wife Jeanne shares the traumatic story in her own words.
Nothing can prepare you for that moment.
I was sitting on Wrightsville Beach with my feet in the sand soaking in the sunshine. We had just moved to Raleigh that week, and it was our first family trip in months. About 15 minutes prior, Jeff and our girls decided to ride the waves. I noticed there was a commotion about a quarter of a mile down the beach. There was an ambulance with EMS, lifeguards and police. I didn't think much of it. I just remember feeling sorry for the people involved.
Minutes later our daughter, Kate, came running up to my chair. I saw her motioning to me to get up. That's the moment I knew. I knew something was terribly wrong. Kate said, "Mama, don't freak out. It's Daddy." I've never run so fast. I sprinted all the way down the beach to find Jeff surrounded by medical personnel. He couldn't move and he couldn't talk. His face was covered in blood. I could hardly breathe, but I told him I was there and everything was going to be alright.
Skyler, our other daughter, was next to Jeff's head. She said, "He hears you, he's blinking his eyes to let you know he hears you." As Jeff was loaded into the ambulance, Skyler, Kate and I headed to the ER. That's when I learned our girls had saved his life. They had all three just ridden a wave together. The wave slammed Jeff's head into a sandbar, completely paralyzing him facedown in the water.
Skyler and Kate found him floating on his stomach. They lifted him up in the nick of time before he started to take in water. They held their dad with his face covered in blood and screamed for help to get him to shore. Without them, there is no doubt the outcome would have been much different. Unfathomable. It was a freak accident and we could have lost him.
Hours later in the ER, he began to slowly regain movement. First, he was able to move his legs. It was his arms and hands that were questionable.
They weren't operating as they should. An MRI revealed nothing was broken, but his spinal cord was swollen and pressing up against the walls. He was diagnosed with Central Cord Syndrome.
Even today, no one will say he is guaranteed to make a full recovery.
The next several days in ICU were scary and encouraging at the same time. Each day he would make small steps of progress. He started out not being able to feed himself or even drink from a cup. The girls and I have cheered him on for years at countless marathons, triathlons and even an Ironman.
Now, we found ourselves celebrating when he would find the strength to lift a cup and drink by himself or put on some Chapstick. It was monumental to us that a few days later he was able to put jelly on his toast and use a fork and knife for the first time since the accident. This had become our new normal.
Jeff's determination, spirit and positive attitude pushed him through the days to follow. Today, he only has full feeling in three of his fingers. The rest are still numb. Despite the burning pain in his arms, shoulders and neck, he has never given up hope that he will fully recover. He continues to make progress everyday. Now, he is buttoning buttons and tying his shoes. He's even cooking breakfast.
There is still a long road ahead, including surgery, but that won't stop him...just like that won't stop us from cheering him on every step of the way.
Skyler, Kate and I know it's a miracle he's with us today. The accident has brought us closer as a family and it has become a reminder that every moment in life is valuable and precious and should never be taken for granted.
