How quickly things can turn south. Last week, in the middle of an extended run of waves, Hawaiian water photographer Keoki Saguibo nearly drowned at Nias. Keoki had travelled to Indonesia with big-wave charger Trevor Carlson with the sole intention of shooting big Nias. Which is what they did for four days before Keoki put down the camera to "get my piece of my dream wave."

That decision precipitated an unfolding nightmare for the Hawaiian who went down hard and injured his back. The harrowing details can be read below provided both by Keoki himself and also Trevor Carlson.

Keoki's brother immediately set up a GoFundMe account to pay for the medivac and ongoing mediacal. See bottom of article for the link. 

Keoki Saguibo: 

We were doing three sessions a day at the famous break, with a few sessions at an undisclosed spot. Baffled by circumstances, we both agreed that we had never scored so hard on a surf trip. We needed a down day. I put the camera down and thought that with all the amazing content we had gathered so far, I could get my piece of my dream wave. I caught a few waves, got barreled on two of them, and started to feel hunger taking over. After talking with a fellow surfer and saying I was getting one more wave in, I waited for a set.

A few minutes later, a three-foot (Hawaiian size) double-up popped on the horizon and I knew it was mine. I caught the wave, stood up, and positioned myself for a lengthy drainer. Dragging both hands to stay in the barrel as long as possible, I found myself too deep. As I fell in the barrel, I expected the same thrashing that you’d expect. The typical up-and-over followed by thrashing. Then BAM! With full force I fell on my back on the board in what felt like I just jumped from a two story building onto cement. The first thing I noticed was the air forcefully being pushed out of my lungs and the most excruciating pain in my lower back. The pain was so unbearable that my vision went out and my body went into shock. I quickly lost consciousness and took on water. From that moment on and the next twenty minutes I would be fighting to stay alive. I can’t recall anything within those twenty minutes. 

I came back to reality to find numerous people surrounding me with yelling coming from all directions. I struggle to figure out where I am as I’m staring at the ceiling of a grass hut. Stinging pains are running down my back as my body goes into shock. The sense of being unable to control your limbs that are shaking like fish out of water plays on my mind as I go into a panic. Not knowing the circumstance of my injuries as I’m struggling to make sense of it all. There is no sensation in my legs. First thought, I’m paralyzed. I go into shock again. I listen to a voice coming from the crowd telling me to breathe. I feel bubbles in my lungs and taking a full breath is not an option. I struggle to remain calm. After a few minutes, I figure my breathing and half breathes is all I can do. So I take what I can get. I calm down enough to regain my composure. 

Coming from a first world country, we take for granted that an ambulance is a safe haven for those who need medical help. In Sumatra, the definition of an ambulance is a taxi driver with cool looking lights on his ride. No training, no experience, an oxygen tank but no tubes or mask to give me oxygen. What the fuck! I knew what was coming ahead is going to be struggle. I felt my high school nurse had more experience and training for any medical situation compared to those in Nias. Luckily, Trevor Carlson was by my side and his training from being a lifeguard and EMT for five years is what saved me for the next three days. Trevor took control of all the medical situations there and even told the so-called ‘doctors’ what to do in this situation until we got to the medevac team.” 

Trevor Carlson: 

When I first got to Keoki we were a couple hundred feet from shore. He was unconscious, foaming at the mouth and choking on water. I noticed everyone helping was so worried about getting him to the beach quickly that no one was protecting his airway. I immediately took control of his head to keep his spine and back aligned. He was gagging on water so I turned him to his side to let him throw it up without rebreathing it in. 

From here on every time we had to go under a wave I pinched his nose and covered his mouth to make sure he didn't get any more water in his lungs than he already had. Once we got the edge of the reef where we could stand someone brought a surfboard big enough that we could it as a backboard. Now we had at least 6 people helping carry him over the reef. By this time, he had been unconscious for at least 10-15 minutes. 

Suddenly he opened his eyes looked at me and began panicking and then within seconds blacked out again. A minute later he came back for a few seconds then blacked out and did this 3 more times in less than a few minutes. When we got him to the beach we put him on a table in the shade and he slowly regained consciousness on his own. In the beginning, Keoki could not move or feel his legs but after 30 minutes he regained minimal feeling in his feet and could begin to wiggle his toes. 

It took more than an hour for the ambulance to show up and when they did the drivers didn't even know how to use the neck brace. They were literally taxi drivers driving an ambulance. In this moment I realized we had to be in control from here on out. I used to be an EMT then worked for the City and County of Honolulu Lifeguards for almost 5 years and was confident we could take care of him better than the ambulance/taxi drivers. Luckily we also had Luke the chiropractor and a Brazilian doctor, Carlos, a gynecologist who accompanied us to the nearest clinic. The clinic we arrived at was basically a hotel with hospital beds and barely any medical equipment or staff. Mostly nuns who were praying for him. Once he was as comfortable as possible I had to go back to the hotel to pack all of our bags and then head right back to the clinic to stay with Keoki. 

The next morning Keoki said he could feel bubbles in his lungs all night from the water he aspirated. From here I demanded we head to another clinic closer to the airport to spend the night and be air lifted to Malaysia then drive to Singapore the next morning. Now thankfully we are in Singapore and after getting his MRI results back today the doctors say with extensive rehab he will eventually make a full recovery! 

Without everyone working together Keoki might not have been as lucky as he was. I cannot begin to explain how thankful I am to everyone who helped out and I hope this story will open people's eyes to the importance of looking out for each other as well as having travel insurance. His emergency airlift alone was $27,000 and the hospital bill is already at $51,000. Not to mention the extensive rehab he is going to need. Insurance is covering some of these expenses but not all. I hope whoever is reading this can learn something from our experience and use it to protect yourself as well as maybe safe the life of a friend one day.” 

Support Keoki Saguibo’s GoFundMe here.