On 1 January 2013, Port Elizabeth resident Lyall Beadon was swimming on Kelly’s beach in Port Alfred. The water was waist deep and he and friends were diving into the waves. A big wave came in and Lyall dived through it. When he dived through the wave, the force of the wave slammed him onto a sandbank breaking his neck.
Lyall immediately lost feeling in his body and, floating face down, could not turn himself over and he thought that he was going to drown. His first reaction was “turn over, turn over you are going to drown”. The next two waves came in failed to roll his body over. The third wave flipped him over so that he could breathe and call for help. Lyall’s friend’s managed to pull him out of the surf and called the ambulance.
Stacey, his sister, with help from his friends, got him into the recovery position. Lyall could talk and maintained eye contact with Stacey. After going to Port Alfred hospital, Lyall was transferred to specialists at Beacon Life in East London.
Lyall’s C7 vertebrae was crushed by the impact and he is in ICU. He has no feeling from his chest down.
Beadon is scheduled to be moved to the Aurora Facility in Port Elizabeth
His family are desperately raising funds for Lyall’s medical and rehabilitation expenses, expected to be in the region of R500 000.00, and any donations will be welcomed. He has asked for messages of encouragement and support.
Leave a message for Lyall Beadon HERE | Banking Details HERE.
