A joyful trip to Hawaii meant to celebrate love and new beginnings became a life-altering tragedy for a California teen, who sustained a severe spinal cord injury after diving into a hotel swimming pool.
Brayden Serrano, 18, had recently walked the stage at his high school graduation and was getting ready to report to Army boot camp when a moment during a Maui wedding vacation changed everything, according to Fox 11.
Serrano, whose mother serves as a sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, was spending time with friends at the pool of a Hawaiian hotel when he dove in headfirst and struck his head on the pool floor.
The impact left Brayden unable to move his arms or legs.
At first, one of his friends believed the teen might have been joking or playing around.
That quickly changed when Brayden stayed motionless and facedown in the water, prompting the friend to jump in and realize the situation was critical.
Although he could not move his limbs, Brayden remained conscious and was able to communicate that he needed help, his family wrote on a GoFundMe page. The friend, who has not been publicly identified, pulled the approximately 6-foot-tall teenager from the pool and called for emergency assistance.
At a Maui trauma center, physicians determined Brayden had suffered devastating injuries to the C5 and C6 vertebrae in his neck, as well as damage to his spinal cord. His C5 vertebra was shattered so severely that surgeons removed it, inserted a cage in its place, and performed a spinal fusion to stabilize his neck.
Brayden has undergone two surgeries, which his family described as successful. But the road ahead remains daunting.
The teenager is currently partially paralyzed in his arms and completely paralyzed in his legs. He also spent part of his hospitalization on a ventilator as doctors worked to stabilize his condition.
His family says the encouraging news is that Brayden did not suffer brain damage and remains able to speak.
“He is a fighter like his mama,” his family wrote.
Brayden is expected to be transported back to Southern California by air ambulance so he can begin what his family anticipates will be an extensive rehabilitation process. His medical team and insurance company are working through the complicated logistics of getting him home, with the possibility of additional treatment in Hawaii before he returns to the mainland.
The accident is particularly heartbreaking because Brayden had been preparing for an entirely different future. The recent high school graduate had enlisted in the Army and was waiting to begin boot camp. He was slated to train as a drone specialist.
Now, his family is facing a future filled with surgeries, rehabilitation and medical expenses, while his mother may need to take time away from work to care for him.
The GoFundMe campaign was launched to help pay for the air ambulance, medical treatment, rehabilitation and other costs associated with Brayden’s life-altering injury.
His family said the support and prayers they have received have helped them through the ordeal.
“Life has forever changed for our family in an instant,” they wrote.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Brayden’s recovery, his loved ones remain determined to help him regain as much independence and function as possible.
“We will get my son back to functioning on his own one day,” his family wrote. “What that looks like, we don’t know but we are in it together.”
For now, the family is focused on one goal, getting the young man home to California and beginning the long road to recovery.
