Coen Gaddes at Wollongong Hospital | August 2, 2024 | 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
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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.