On June 29, 2023, juniors Marcos Ornellas, Ryan Denney, Masa Fujita and Zander Basco began their normal summer routine: a day full of surfing. However, the conditions looked bleak at their original destination, Rodeo Beach, so they drove an additional 40 minutes to Bolinas.
“Bolinas looked horrible as well. We just decided to leave. Then, as we were driving back out, I said, ‘We’re already here; we should stay.’ We thought we should just make fun of it, so we started messing around in the water,” Ornellas said.
What seemed like harmless fun turned out to be a traumatic turning point in Ornellas’ life.
Fujita took a wave in and turned around to see Denney swiftly paddling towards Ornellas, who wasn’t moving.
“I thought he was playing dead in the water. I looked back and saw that he was still face down. I was like, ‘Oh god, what's happening?’ I paddled over to him as fast as I could and lifted his face, and his lips were purple. He was clearly drowning,” Denney said.
Ornellas was in pure shock.
“I was floating back up. I was trying to move, and I just couldn’t, but I didn’t panic. I knew what was happening and didn't want to accept it. I was just waiting for somebody to hopefully flip me over,” Ornellas said.
Once the boys realized the accident’s severity, they quickly sprung into action, using the skills they learned from the Physical Education swim unit.
“We all lifted him onto his board and floated him onto the beach,” Fujita said.
Using other learned techniques, Basco helped lead Ornellas in a breathing exercise.
“[Ornellas] was really scared. He kept saying that he was never going to walk again. I was just thinking about a way to get him to focus on something that would actually be proficient to do, so I gave him a breathing exercise,” Basco said.
Ornellas’ mother, Elena Vives, distinctly remembers her initial reaction when receiving the call from Denney that Ornellas was being airlifted to Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland.
“I just tried to stay calm. I was in complete shock,” Vives said.
Ornellas stayed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for nine days before being transferred to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Vallejo for another five weeks.
“It was terrible in the ICU. The rooms were dark and they were putting you on drugs to keep you ‘out of it’. And when you can't move anything, you don't know if you will be stuck in that state for the rest of your life. Your surgeon doesn't know, the doctors don't know, and that's just so scary. You can’t help but think, ‘Is this a life worth living?’” Ornellas said.
Despite his initial reaction, Ornellas’ friends and family could not help but notice his positive attitude and perseverance, no matter the circumstances.
Trying to stay motivated was hard for Vives, but she was thoroughly inspired by Ornellas.
“He was the one keeping everybody optimistic because he had a lot of hope. He even told the doctors what to do with the other kids to keep them happy,” Vives said. “[Ornellas] always asked me to turn the bed so he could look at the sunset. It made him very happy.”
During Ornellas’s recovery, he felt tremendous support from his family, friends and surrounding community. A key part of this support was a GoFundMe, started by Winnie Anderluh, the mother of a close friend of Ornellas, which raised almost $133,000 for Ornellas’s medical expenses.
“After the GoFundMe, we couldn't believe it. We were in shock. It really helps to see how many people love him and are trying to help him. It was amazing,” Vives said.
Not only did principal Barnaby Payne reach out to the family to make sure that they knew that Ornellas’ recovery came first, but a group of local mothers also displayed support and hope for a speedy recovery for Ornellas.
“The group of moms were amazing. They were always in contact and supported us. It really helped us feel like we weren’t alone,” Vives said.
During his long recovery in the hospital, Ornellas formed a strong connection with his favorite physical therapist, Todd Tanner.
“The first time I walked unassisted, I remember Todd [Tanner] telling me to remove my shoes. He then took my walker and had people next to me on both sides,” Ornellas said. “He told me that I’ve made such good progress. He was the first person to tell me that he thought I’d walk again. Every day I was with him, he was just super positive and such a nice guy.”
Tanner recalls his time with Ornellas in the hospital.
“He’s a soccer player, he is smart, he’s engaging. All I had to do was get him there. We would always exchange funny looks in the hallway. It was sort of like competition, almost like a big brother, little brother type thing. We just had fun,” Tanner said.
After a long-awaited five weeks, Ornellas was discharged from the hospital and ready to begin walking unassisted.
“I just started doing laps around my bed by myself. Being able to walk to the shower and being able to wash and clothe myself was huge,” Ornellas said.
One of Ornellas’s favorite parts of returning home was reuniting with his dog, Kenji.
While being home, Ornellas picked up new hobbies and activities to keep him occupied before his return to school.
“I spent a lot of time playing chess with my brother. It was really nice to spend time with him while he was home for the summer, outside of him visiting me almost every day in the hospital,” Ornellas said.
After five long months of doing virtual school, Ornellas was finally cleared to come back and take in-person classes at Redwood.
“It’s normal having him back. It doesn’t seem like anything has changed,” Denney said.
At first, Vives was hesitant to send him back to school, but she knew she couldn’t keep him home forever.
Since Ornellas’ miraculous recovery, he is looking forward to hopefully returning to playing sports soon.
“My goal for recovery is to be able to sprint and to be able to do the same sports I was able to do [before]. That doesn't mean getting fully back into it; I just would love to be able to run without fatigue,” Ornellas said.
Despite his doctor's requests, Ornellas has one more goal he would like to complete before his senior year.
“I’d love to be able to surf again. It would be amazing to have that back. And being able to do a pop-up again because that involves a lot of different muscles,” Ornellas said.
Since his injury, peers and family have noticed a shift in Ornellas’s way of life.
“He is much more sympathetic and compassionate now,” Fujita said.
Basco also noticed a critical personality change in Ornellas.
Ornellas looks forward to filling his schedule with physical therapy, hanging out with friends and studying. He hopes to one day become a doctor and help people just like he was helped.
“Even if he gets only a partial recovery, he's gonna go on and become a doctor or a motivational speaker, and he’s just going to do something extraordinary because that's who he is,” Tanner said.
In dark times, the Redwood community showed its true colors by springing into action and ensuring Ornellas had all the support he needed.
“We just really want to thank the community, everyone who donated to us and the school. We really felt all of the love,” Vives said.