Outlook hopeful for injured surfer

Experienced wave rider is recovering from a spinal cord injury that nearly paralyzed him.Newport Beach local Jeremy Ross-Duggan has surfed all over the world. He’s hit epic waves in Peru and tackled more than a few cliff dives. An athlete with a ferocious appetite for adventure, Jeremy Ross-Duggan admits he’s done some crazy stuff in his 43 years.

With all the risk-taking, Ross-Duggan never dreamed he’d come so close to a life-threatening injury while surfing one-foot waves in the ocean where he grew up.

Jeremy Ross-Duggan and his close friend, Mark Schmidt, were surfing Jan. 29 near the Newport Pier when Jeremy Ross-Duggan mistakenly dove into shallow water and hit his head on a sandbar.

The accident instantly paralyzed him. Jeremy Ross-Duggan was drowning when Schmidt pulled him out of the water and onto the beach. Lifeguards and paramedics responded quickly and took Ross-Duggan by ambulance to nearby Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

There, he learned he had suffered damage to his spinal cord.

“I’ve always been a nutty, diver-daredevil freak, so this was not even a risk,” Jeremy Ross-Duggan said from his hospital bed Saturday.

For Jeremy Ross-Duggan and his family, the accident had a surreal element of familiarity.

Jeremy Ross-Duggan’s brother, John Ross-Duggan, is quadriplegic. He broke his neck and was paralyzed in a car accident 28 years ago.

“I screamed at the doctor over the phone because I thought that they were joking me,” said John Ross-Duggan, 50, of his reaction when an emergency room doctor told him of his brother’s accident.

Minutes later, when John Ross-Duggan saw his brother in the hospital, he knew it was real.

“There he was -- couldn’t move anything,” John Ross-Duggan said.

Jeremy Ross-Duggan, John Ross-Duggan and their sister Robin Ross-Duggan are self-described “old Newport salt” -- locals who have traveled the globe, but always call Newport their home.

A police report taken at the accident scene originally identified Jeremy Ross-Duggan as being from Ventura.

Jeremy Ross-Duggan, now 43, attended Newport Elementary School and Newport Harbor High School, before moving to London to finish his high school education.

In London, he was adopted by his stepfather, and he took the name Jeremy Henderson, the name many of his friends know him by.

Jeremy and John Ross-Duggan grew up surfing together. They remember sneaking into Trestles and running across the railroad tracks when they were kids.

John Ross-Duggan was 22 and was enrolled in medical school at Duke University when a high speed car accident changed his life.

The car he was driving hit a bridge at high speeds; his passenger suffered minor injuries, but John Ross-Duggan would never walk again. His spinal cord was smashed.

“I came back to school in an electric wheelchair,” John Ross-Duggan said. “Everybody was staring at me and asking stupid questions.”

John Ross-Duggan finished medical school and became of doctor of neuro-radiology. He built up his strength and eventually returned to the sports he loves: surfing and sailing. He is a two-time sailing medalist in the Paralympics, an international athletic competition open to those with mobility disabilities.

“My situation was real different from Jeremy’s,” John Ross-Duggan said. “It was like the lights went out.”

Much to the relief of his family, a hospital neurosurgeon said the prognosis for Jeremy Ross-Duggan’s recovery is different from his brother’s, John Ross-Duggan said.

An MRI test after Jeremy Ross-Duggan’s accident revealed a spinal cord contusion -- a bruise on the spinal cord -- not a more serious fracture.

Jeremy Ross-Duggan showed positive signs early on; just hours after the accident, he was able to move his toes.

“I was so happy,” John Ross-Duggan said. “I just cried my eyes out when I saw how well he was moving.”

As he lay on a hospital bed, surrounded by family Saturday, Jeremy Ross-Duggan was optimistic and ambitious about his own recovery.

“I’m going to be walking on my own,” Jeremy Ross-Duggan said.

Although it’s still too early to make a firm prediction, John Ross-Duggan said his brother could make a full recovery in six to 12 months.

Jeremy Ross-Duggan said he’s not going to stop surfing -- but he will “mellow out” a bit.

“I think this is a lesson from God to just chill,” Jeremy Ross-Duggan said. “Count all your chips like a lucky gambler and leave the casino.”

In his small hospital room, he was surrounded by mementos that keep him motivated for recovery. The most prominent -- a poster of Rincon Point, a favorite surf spot between Santa Barbara and Ventura -- is tacked in front of Jeremy’s bed.

Will he surf it again?