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“Brain Was Pulling Me From..”: Unable to Spell His Own Name, Surfing Champ Barely Made It Out of Near-Death Experience

Published 03/16/2023, 4:30 PM EDT

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Famous surfer Billy Kemper survived a life-threatening accident in 2020 that changed his world upside down. The surfer was engulfed by a huge wipeout that left his body paralyzed and fractured in many areas. Nevertheless, the recovery process was quite overwhelming for Kemper.

YouTube channel T&C Surfing released the second installment of Billy Kemper’s docu-series titled “PART 2: A DOOMED WINTER – Nothing Good In Life Comes Easy”. The surfer revealed several difficulties after returning home and how he was able to overcome them.

Billy Kemper was unable to perform basic actions

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After facing the life-threatening accident, Kemper was immediately rushed to the hospital. He blacked out for three days during his treatment at the hospital. After reaching home, Kemper tried to feel if he was alright. He realized that he had to take therapy to recover. In the documentary, he revealed about his post-surgery condition, “ I could barely even spell my own name, let alone carry a conversation and have a consistent normal speech everything was broken up. My brain was pulling me from opposite ends.”

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Kemper further revealed that the light felt like a sharp pierce whenever he opened his eyes. He would frequently feel nauseous. He added in the documentary, “It was something I’ve never dealt with, and knowing that this concussion had been going on for a few days now was really scary.

Realizing his concussion, Kemper decided to fully give himself into therapy. Luckily, he connected with an organization that scheduled brain scanning for him. Kemper completely cooperated with them. He was sleeping eight hours in the night in his hyperbaric chamber, performing two-three brain sessions a day. He also exercised in the gym, directly targeting neuro progress. Within some days, Kemper began to feel great improvement in his condition.

Read More: “Winter Would Slowly Decrease”: Psychological Issues Forced Former Surf Champ to Kick off Booze and Drugs

After realizing his fast recovery, Kemper gave a thought about participating in Eddie Aikau.

How did Billy Kemper’s family react to his comeback?

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Within a week of his recovery, Kemper was asked if was going to participate in Eddie Aikau. He had to surf in 50 to 60 ft waves. He knew that participating in a surfing competition after coming straight from a concussion was no joke for his family. His wife and children were concerned about him. However, eventually, they supported his choice.

 

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A post shared by Billy Kemper (@billykemper)

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Nevertheless, a night before the competition, his doctor stated that he had fully recovered. He encouraged him to stay careful while performing. However, he also felt that Kemper deserved this moment.

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Written by:

Muskan Sharma

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Muskan Sharma is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She has a degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Calcutta. Muskan has worked as a writer for 3+ years but has a knack for filmmaking, too.
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Edited by:

Debmallya Chakraborty