HONOLULU (KHON2) -- A young man from California wants to share his story and raise awareness of an extremely rare condition. It happened after surfing in Waikiki.
It has changed his life forever but has not stopped him.
When you first start talking to Brandon Louie, he sounds like any ordinary guy. After you finish talking to him, you realize he is extraordinary.
"Having a negative outlook not conducive to success," said Louie.
It is that positive attitude that has pushed the 20-year-old to becoming a student athlete. Even after a freak accident three years ago while on vacation in Hawaii that left him paralyzed.
"Been out here for the summer on vacation," said Louie. "Decided to take a group surf lesson with my friends."
Brandon rode about a half dozen waves that day. On the last wave, he felt a pop in his lower back. Then a shooting pain up his spine and down his legs. He swam in and laid down on the beach.
"I would say I laid down for no more than 10 minutes, when the pain kept getting worse and worse, then just disappeared completely," said Louie. "Along with it, all the feeling and movement in my legs."
Brandon was taken to Queens Medical Center. After numerous tests, doctors diagnosed him with surfer's myelopathy.
"When someone's laying down on the board, and they come up, their back extends first, and that extension of the spine causes compression, which limits the blood flow to the area where that compression is pinpointed at, and that will lead to a spinal cord injury," said Chris Ready, physical therapist.
It's an extremely rare condition. Queens only knows of fewer than 70 cases ever.
After a month of treatment, Brandon went to therapy at the Shepard Center in Atlanta, which specializes in spinal cord injuries. Ready was his physical therapist.
"Balance looks very different," said Ready. "They're having to learn to move themselves in bed again, how to get out of bed, into the shower, and different things like that, so they're kind of learning all those basic like activities of daily living over again, and how to do it without use of their legs."
Louie explained that he sometimes felt hopeless, but soon understood that facing challenges is a natural part of life.
"There was a time for sure that I felt pretty down and very negative, but I realize very quickly that it's not productive," said Louie. "It's not healthy, and it's not going to help you overcome the challenges that you're facing. And the challenges you're facing just aren't going to go away either."
Brandon's grandma grew up in Kaimuki. So, he has been visiting Hawaii since he was little. That has not changed since the accident.
"I really doing enjoy hikes, when accessible. I love the beach. Just going for swims, looking for fish under the water. That's always fun," he said. "It's not about where it happened. It's not about why it happened. It just happened here so I still love the island."
Brandon plays on the University of Arizona wheelchair basketball team, pursuing a business degree. He is looking to go to law school.
"If you spend all the time worrying about the things that are out of your control, then you're not really going to get anywhere," said Louie. "If I just sat I the hospital worrying about what I couldn't do anymore, then I wouldn't know what I can do now."