Matt Oka was born on March 1, 1986 in Portland, Oregon. He grew up in Beaverton, Oregon and attended Beaverton High School before moving to Newport Beach, California in 2003. Matt graduated from Newport Harbor High School and received a grant to attend USC’s Marshall School of Business. Matt started swimming competitively on a swim team at the age of eight and he continued swimming throughout college, where he was on USC’s varsity swim team during his freshman year. Matt was one of the top breast stroke sprinters/swimmers in his age group in both Oregon and California.

Last July, to celebrate the Fourth of July Holiday, Matt went to Newport Beach (near the Balboa pier) with several of his friends. While body surfing in the ocean, like he did several times a week during the summer, Matt dove under a large wave head first and hit his head on a sandbar. His entire body immediately went numb and he was left facedown and helpless in the water. He was rescued by a lifeguard and transported to Hoag Hospital. Matt’s C5 vertebrae was cracked in half and had to be screwed back together.  His C6 and C7 vertebrae were completely crushed and had to be replaced with metal reinforcements attached around them for support. He spent the next two months there in a state of paralysis and on life support while he was recovering from pneumonia. As a drowning victim he had seawater in his lungs and had also contracted a MRSA staff infection.

In October, he was transferred to Rancho Los Amigos in Downey, California to begin physical therapy. He is currently a quadriplegic and has no feeling or movement from his chest down. His hands are also partially paralyzed and he has little or no feeling. He has somebody with him most of the time to assist him with his day-to-day activities like eating. If it weren’t for the accident Matt would have graduated from USC with a degree in Business in May 2008.

Unfortunately, Matt’s student health insurance through USC only covered a percentage of his hospital expenses and capped off after Matt received $500,000 in medical care. The bill to date is much more and the only medical coverage he receives now is through MEDICAL, which provides very limited benefits. Due to these limitations, Matt will leave Rancho Los Amigos in early December and will need to purchase tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment for his home and transportation needs.

Matt’s mother and father, Julie and Dennis, have been a constant support and have been almost living at the rehabilitation center with their son. Matt has a 23-year-old brother named David, who attended Orange Coast College and a younger sister Kayley, who is an 18-year-old freshman at San Diego State University. Matt enjoys swimming, hanging out with friends and family, body surfing, and traveling.  In the summer of 2006 he traveled throughout Europe and he has also been to Canada, Mexico, and Japan. Matt plans to return to USC to obtain his bachelor’s degree after he finishes his rehabilitation.

The next twelve months are crucial to Matt’s recovery. Simply stated the higher the quality of rehabilitation that Matt receives, the better his chances are for achieving significant recovery.

Please join us by giving generously to help Matt reach his rehabilitation goals.

                                                             
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