Help Devin Walk & Conquer Surfer's Myelopathy
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July 6, 2019 was a perfect morning on the California coast for Devin Gildner. Slightly overcast, good waves and a day of surfing ahead with his brother Liam.
This long-awaited trip to visit extended family in California was Devin's high school graduation gift. For a kid whose warmth, love and smile can instantly fill a room, the time with family was pure joy. Born and raised in the Golden State, his family moved to Black Mountain, North Carolina in 2014. Five years later, having fully embraced his new hometown and graduated from Owen High School, Devin's dream of getting back to the Pacific Ocean before entering Warren Wilson College and joining the soccer team was finally here. 
After several hours of surfing, Devin's dream turned into a nightmare. Emerging from the water and removing his wetsuit, Devin felt a weakness creep into his legs. As he walked to join his grandparents on the beach, the weakness turned to numbness and Devin stumbled. Helped to the car by his brother, Devin lay down in the backseat beset with fear and emotion at his uncontrollable and rapidly deteriorating physical condition. Within an hour Devin was rushed by ambulance to Long Beach Memorial Hospital having lost all feeling, mobility and control below his waist.
Devin's sudden onset of paraplegia after surfing was diagnosed by the neurologist team as Surfer's Myelopathy... a rare spinal cord injury that is increasingly being recognized by physicians across the globe. Affected by a loss of blood flow to the spinal cord, Surfer's Myelopathy is believed to be caused by hyperextension of the back while lying on a surfboard for an extended period of time. Surfers begin to feel a back pain followed by decreased sensation and gradual impaired mobility in the legs. Some surfers have been permanently paralyzed by the condition while others have fully recovered. Devin and his team of neurologists are determined he will be one of the surfers that walks again!
Within hours of being admitted to Long Beach Memorial, the medical team was assessing Devin's malady, ruling out traditional acute trauma, prior injury and disease as the etiology. After several days of tests, imaging, and conferences with neurologists, Devin was diagnosed with Surfer's Myelopathy. But the diagnosis was just the beginning of the challenges. The medical team is now faced with deciding how best to treat Devin and bring him back from paraplegia. As an under-diagnosed and under-reported injury, Surfer's Myelopathy has no standardization of causes, symptoms or treatments. The neurologists have heavily researched the known case studies and are developing a course-of-treatment, determined to make Devin the patient upon which future treatment of Surfer's Myelopathy is modeled.
One week into this frightening reality and the 18-year old athletic boy remains relentlessly positive. Devin still worries more about how everyone else in the room is feeling. He makes sure visitors feel welcomed, hospital staff is appreciated and people wear a smile. As many of us know, such hopefulness can drive recovery, even from the darkest of places. And indeed there are signs of hope. Within the past few days, some sensation to touch and slight muscular movement has returned to portions of Devin's legs. You can learn more about the rare injury of Surfer's Myelopathy in this video and at the Surfer's Myelopathy Foundation .
The road ahead for Devin and his family is long, unknown and trepidatious. Still in the ICU, Devin faces weeks of intensive care followed by months of treatment, therapy and rehabilitation in Southern California in the hopes of restoring his spinal functioning and recovering his mobility. Meanwhile, Devin's father (Justin), mother (Lisa) and brother (Liam) face the logistical and financial hardship of work and school back in Black Mountain, North Carolina, split living on both coasts, frequent cross country travel and daunting medical bills.
The extended family has rallied around Devin and the fight for his recovery is in full swing. We set up this GoFundMe page as a communication platform to ensure we keep all of Devin's family and friends up-to-date on his status, progress and recovery. As you can imagine, the Gildners will incur significant medical bills, additional living expenses and extensive travel costs over the coming months and potentially years. Any donations towards Devin's recovery and his family's needs are greatly appreciated. If you are unable to donate, prayers and good vibes are just as important!
And Devin's room-filling smile and unwavering optimism will keep all of us reminded that no cost, no barrier and no struggle will separate Devin from fulfilling his new dream... to walk again with his brother.
This long-awaited trip to visit extended family in California was Devin's high school graduation gift. For a kid whose warmth, love and smile can instantly fill a room, the time with family was pure joy. Born and raised in the Golden State, his family moved to Black Mountain, North Carolina in 2014. Five years later, having fully embraced his new hometown and graduated from Owen High School, Devin's dream of getting back to the Pacific Ocean before entering Warren Wilson College and joining the soccer team was finally here. 
After several hours of surfing, Devin's dream turned into a nightmare. Emerging from the water and removing his wetsuit, Devin felt a weakness creep into his legs. As he walked to join his grandparents on the beach, the weakness turned to numbness and Devin stumbled. Helped to the car by his brother, Devin lay down in the backseat beset with fear and emotion at his uncontrollable and rapidly deteriorating physical condition. Within an hour Devin was rushed by ambulance to Long Beach Memorial Hospital having lost all feeling, mobility and control below his waist.
Devin's sudden onset of paraplegia after surfing was diagnosed by the neurologist team as Surfer's Myelopathy... a rare spinal cord injury that is increasingly being recognized by physicians across the globe. Affected by a loss of blood flow to the spinal cord, Surfer's Myelopathy is believed to be caused by hyperextension of the back while lying on a surfboard for an extended period of time. Surfers begin to feel a back pain followed by decreased sensation and gradual impaired mobility in the legs. Some surfers have been permanently paralyzed by the condition while others have fully recovered. Devin and his team of neurologists are determined he will be one of the surfers that walks again!
Within hours of being admitted to Long Beach Memorial, the medical team was assessing Devin's malady, ruling out traditional acute trauma, prior injury and disease as the etiology. After several days of tests, imaging, and conferences with neurologists, Devin was diagnosed with Surfer's Myelopathy. But the diagnosis was just the beginning of the challenges. The medical team is now faced with deciding how best to treat Devin and bring him back from paraplegia. As an under-diagnosed and under-reported injury, Surfer's Myelopathy has no standardization of causes, symptoms or treatments. The neurologists have heavily researched the known case studies and are developing a course-of-treatment, determined to make Devin the patient upon which future treatment of Surfer's Myelopathy is modeled.
One week into this frightening reality and the 18-year old athletic boy remains relentlessly positive. Devin still worries more about how everyone else in the room is feeling. He makes sure visitors feel welcomed, hospital staff is appreciated and people wear a smile. As many of us know, such hopefulness can drive recovery, even from the darkest of places. And indeed there are signs of hope. Within the past few days, some sensation to touch and slight muscular movement has returned to portions of Devin's legs. You can learn more about the rare injury of Surfer's Myelopathy in this video and at the Surfer's Myelopathy Foundation .
The road ahead for Devin and his family is long, unknown and trepidatious. Still in the ICU, Devin faces weeks of intensive care followed by months of treatment, therapy and rehabilitation in Southern California in the hopes of restoring his spinal functioning and recovering his mobility. Meanwhile, Devin's father (Justin), mother (Lisa) and brother (Liam) face the logistical and financial hardship of work and school back in Black Mountain, North Carolina, split living on both coasts, frequent cross country travel and daunting medical bills.
The extended family has rallied around Devin and the fight for his recovery is in full swing. We set up this GoFundMe page as a communication platform to ensure we keep all of Devin's family and friends up-to-date on his status, progress and recovery. As you can imagine, the Gildners will incur significant medical bills, additional living expenses and extensive travel costs over the coming months and potentially years. Any donations towards Devin's recovery and his family's needs are greatly appreciated. If you are unable to donate, prayers and good vibes are just as important!
And Devin's room-filling smile and unwavering optimism will keep all of us reminded that no cost, no barrier and no struggle will separate Devin from fulfilling his new dream... to walk again with his brother.
Fundraising team: Devin's Dream Team (2)
Jim Morris
Organizer
Long Beach, CA
Justin and Lisa Gildner
Beneficiary
Theresa Dawn Austin Morris
Team member
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