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Former Ocean Grove Lifeguard Sam Garmer Rehabilitates His Legs
Five years after being paralyzed while working as a lifeguard in Ocean Grove, Sam Garmer is recovering with a new device at the Mount Laurel Walking Project.
OCEAN GROVE — Many times over the past five years, while visiting the beach across the street from her home, Jessica Garmer has seen beachgoers do things that bother her.
Five years ago this summer, her 16-year-old son, Sam Garmer, was working as a lifeguard on the same sand when he jumped into a wave, not realizing there was a hidden sandbar just below the surface. He was left paralyzed from the neck down after fracturing the sixth cervical vertebra in his spine.
After five years of intensive rehabilitation, Sam has regained use of his upper body and is making progress in standing and walking, and Jessica, who is keen to promote beach safety, came up with an innovative way to warn Ocean Grove Beach visitors – especially young people – about the dangers of the beach.
Over the past two weeks, a series of QR code signs have been placed along the beach entrances. Scan the code with your phone, and a link to a short YouTube video (less than a minute) will appear on one of seven different topics: Beach breaks (where waves hit the sand), water currents, heat and humidity, docks, sand dunes, storms, Color-coded flags meanings Which indicates the state of the ocean for swimming.
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“I was concerned about how people behaved in the water and when the waves hit the shore,” Jessica Jarmer said. “You can tell them anything you want, but sometimes they need to watch a video. This generation watches videos. It means meeting people where they are.”
The videos were produced by Ocean Grove lifeguards, including Sam’s siblings, and the signs were funded by the Ocean Grove Beach Foundation.
“We want to do anything we can to spread awareness about safety and accident prevention,” said James Doyle, chief lifeguard. “The number of people visiting our beach has quadrupled in the last three years. We see a lot of people visiting, and we love having people, but they are naive about the ocean, so having something like this is great.”
Sam Garmer, now 21, believes the brightly colored QR code tags will attract the attention of teens and young adults who are well attuned to accessing information this way.
“I think this is a really good idea that my mom came up with and it will be helpful for people who are coming here for the first time — or maybe don’t know what might hurt them on the beach,” he said. “People will scan it. It’s a lot easier than stopping to read a sign.”
“I’m getting stronger”
Since that fateful summer in 2019, Sam and his mother have been speaking publicly about his recovery journey — as a way to raise awareness of spinal cord injuries and inspire others dealing with paralysis.
Sam spends three days a week in rehabilitation at Project Walk New Jersey, a paralysis treatment center in Mount Laurel, Burlington County. He also receives physical therapy at home and separate hand-only therapy; he recently regained full use of his right thumb, a major accomplishment.
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On August 1, Project Walk received the Rise & Walk device, an advanced neurorehabilitation station that helps a patient walk in place.
“This device has the ability to measure how much assistance you need, how little assistance you need as you go,” said Leslie Clark, owner of The Walking Project in New Jersey. “It monitors your progress over time.”
The machine, which involves swinging the arm to allow for a more natural walk, “helps retrain the brain to remind the body (how to walk),” Clark explained.
Sam will spend up to an hour on it at a time.
“I’m stronger in all areas,” he said. “I’m stronger in my core now, so I can stand up straight on my own. I have more control over my legs and I’m gaining more strength. My movements are slowly getting better.”
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Ocean Grove’s beach safety videos, narrated by a lifeguard standing near the water, are concise and easy to digest.
“When entering the water, it is always important not to dive head first,” says the lifeguard in the video showing the beach debris. “Diving into beach debris can result in head, neck or back injuries.”
Currently, the signs are located along Ocean Grove’s beaches at the entrances. Next summer, Jessica Garmer envisions additional signs closer to the water — either on freestanding signs or on the backs of lifeguard platforms.
“We can all make comments like, ‘Oh, everyone is on their phones all the time’ – but everyone He is “On their phones,” she said. “So if they’re on their phones, can we access their phones and send them this (safety message)?”
She also has designs on creating a treasure hunt, where beachgoers who watch all seven videos can collect a souvenir bracelet from the beach office.
“Sam was doing something pretty benign,” Jessica Garmer said. “I’ve seen people do much crazier things. If I can prevent one person from going through what he went through, that’s what I want to do.”
Jerry Carino is a community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues on the Jersey Shore. Contact him at [email protected].