Simon Beardsell knows he may not be alive today without the efforts of the people who were around him when he had a near-drowning incident.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Simon was enjoying a surf last down Burrill Lake way last Wednesday when things went wrong.
He does not remember exactly what happened as one minute he was in the water and the next in Canberra Hospital.
Simon was enjoying his second surf of the day and had been in the water for about 30 minutes.
While he was paddling back out he was thinking that he could have surfed the wave better.
Then bang - the incident happened and he was out cold.
Simon thinks somehow he banged his head on his surfboard while taking evasive action.
"I was very fortunate it happened where I was [the golf course reef]," he said.
Other surfers noticed he was "lolling" around in the water and quickly went to his assistance.
Related:
On land, others also helped and the ambulance response was also quick.
Words cannot do justice to describe the gratitude he has toward all the people who came to his aid.
He put a message on Facebook to thank all those who helped and also to let them know how he was going.
"Total blackout" was how he described the actual incident but he does have a few memories of being transported to the hospital.
"I can remember a bit of noise, a mask on my face and a bit of fussing about when I was about to go on the helicopter," he said.
Simon is an experienced surfer and the 53-year-old Canberra resident has been coming down to the Burrill Lake area since he was a kid.
"This is the first time something like this has happened to me and when I am in the surf I do have my wits about me," he said.
He was in hospital for observation purposes for several days and was released on Monday.
Simon has a few more days left of his holidays and intends to just rest and continue his recovery.
"I hope this is not the end of my surfing career," he said.
No doubt he will be soon back in the water doing what he loves.