Man Paralyzed While Diving Has No Health Aide: 'This Is A Crisis'

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — In the face of unspeakable tragedy, true heroes are born.

Matthew Raynor, 29, of Hampton Bays, who worked as a commercial fisherman, was paralyzed in a diving accident near Towd Point in North Sea, Southampton, on April 18. His injuries have resulted in the paralysis of his upper chest through his lower extremities; he now has limited control of his arms and hands, a GoFundMe page said.

But to add to the enormity of the situation, Raynor recently found himself without insurance to cover the costs of a home health care aide, leaving his mother to try to care for her son by herself.

That's when friend Bridget LeRoy stepped up and rallied the proverbial troops, putting a call out to the community and creating a Facebook fundraiser, "For Matty Ray's Home Health Aid," which has so far garnered $21,499 of its $25,000 goal.

Raynor's story is one of courage, perseverance — and an abiding belief that out of the most unthinkable circumstances, hope and beauty can be born.

Speaking with Patch, Raynor described what he remembers from the day of the accident.

"It was April 18, the trees weren’t out yet. It was a stormy day — cloudy and windy. I had been fishing out of Montauk on the fishing vessel Perception and I was currently off of crew rotation. I had one week left before I had to go out fishing for a month," he said.

Raynor said he had been swimming recently in the cold waters of Peconic Bay. "It was extremely refreshing and it was also helping with tendonitis I had been experiencing. On this particular day, I drove down to the channel at Towd Point; it was a full moon so the tide was all the way up. The entire channel was filled with water. I had remembered jumping in the channel as a kid and finding clay, playing with it."

The channel at that point was deep, he said.

"I used to launch my boat in North Sea Harbor and exit through this channel to go scalloping out in Peconic Bay by Robins Island. So I thought I was very familiar with it. I had dozens of track lines on my GPS going through that channel. So I decided to dive in the water. It was really refreshing and enjoyable."

He dove in a few times, the water so crystal clear you could even see the bottom, Raynor said.

"It was this beautiful blue color which you only see when the water is cold in Peconic," he added.

The experience was so fulfilling that he went to pick up his close friend Jerome Lucani.

"We came back to the Point and I dove in a few more times," he said. "At this point I was pretty cold and tired but decided to jump in one more time. This time I didn’t do the shallow dive I had done at least eight times before."

And then tragedy struck.

"I don’t remember it, but I hit the bottom. The next thing I remember I was facedown, completely paralyzed in the frigid waters," Raynor said.

Because it was a moon tide, the water was rushing out of the channel into the Peconic; there was also a strong wind, he said. "The combination of the moon tide and the stormy day created an extremely strong push out into the Peconic. I was in this tide completely lucid, staring at the bottom. I remember thinking it was going to be difficult for Jerome to retrieve me from the channel because at this point I was in the middle of it — you couldn’t stand — and I was being rushed out."

"I knew I was either going to drown or be paralyzed for life"

"There were many thoughts I had at this moment, because I knew I was either going to drown or be paralyzed for life," Raynor said. "The longer the time went on, the more likely I knew that it was going to be a death scenario. I remember thinking that I had lived a full life. I remember thinking that I didn’t regret any of the stupid things that I done and I was happy with the person that I had become. I was happy that I got to travel and see the world. I was very happy that I got to spend so much time on the water doing what I love. I also remember thinking that I was really glad I got to do a road trip in the late winter visiting national parks in the west. I had resigned myself to my death in the frigid waters of Towd Point."

His friend Jerome, Raynor said, eventually realized that he was in great distress and waded out into the water.

"At this point I had been facedown, drowned, for a few minutes," he said. "He swam out to me and pushed me toward the shore. When he got a foothold on the sand he dragged me by my shoulders halfway onto the sand and proceeded to do CPR. I was lying on the sand with blue lips, my eyes wide open, but with no signs of life."

The CPR, Raynor said, was successful and he regained consciousness. "Being half in the water I told Jerome to drag me up onto the beach. The wind was blowing sand into my eyes and face and I could imagine my body, as well — but I couldn’t feel it at that point."

His friend called 911 and then, help came and he was airlifted to the hospital. His body temperature was 88.2 degrees.

"I view whatever time I have here as extra. I should have died that day, but here I am."

Left with a grave spinal cord injury, Raynor has remained unfailingly upbeat and positive.

"I view my whatever time I have here as extra," he said. "I should have died that day, but here I am. Also, I think being totally lucid when I was drowning helped me maintain a positive outlook. I was glad to come back to life. I had a very strong spiritual experience that will be imprinted on my psyche forever."

Raynor said he is also blessed by an amazing support system and people in his life who care and help tremendously.

"So much has been taken away from me but so much has been given back by wonderful people," he said.

When he feels down or overwhelmed, Raynor said he tries to meditate, change his perspective, and generate gratitude for all the positives that have emerged from the darkness.

"It can be extremely difficult because to be honest, it is a crisis situation, that’s why it’s so imperative to keep a positive outlook," he said.

(GoFundMe)

The crisis intensified when he found himself without the necessary health insurance to cover a home health aide, Raynor said. After he left rehab, he had believed he would receive short-term care and that while things might be a bit rocky for a while, long-term care would eventually commence and he'd be given a health aide.

"But that did not happen," he said.

With no outside help, the lion's share of his care fell to his mother, who has been his main caregiver. Friends, his brother, and his girlfriend have also been a lifeline.

"I need help with pretty much everything," he said.

But an aide is needed for tasks including showering; he also needs physical therapy and occupational therapy.

One nurse who came out to assess the situation told him he needed 63 hours of help each week. "I need a lot more than 63 hours," he said, adding that after the visit, there was still no health aide assigned.

"Weeks went by and I still had no health aide," he said. "There is a shortage of health aides on Long Island," with those that his insurance company works with not available on the East End. "It’s a complicated situation," he said.

The red tape is deeply tangled but in the interim, Raynor is in desperate need of care.

And that's where LeRoy stepped in. When she heard of the dire straits her friend had found himself in, she took immediate action.

"Matt's brother, Jonathan, has a GoFundMe campaign, and Matt's girlfriend, Jackie, held a benefit at the Boardy Barn, so there was already a sense of purpose to help Matt in the air," she said

LeRoy created the Facebook fundraiser, "For Matty Ray's Home Health Aide."

"Matt Raynor, 29, of Hampton Bays sustained a serious spinal cord injury in April, and is paralyzed from the chest down," she wrote. "A commercial fisherman, world traveler, artist, photographer, and all-around cool dude, Matt has fallen through the cracks of our health care system. He has moved back in with his mother, but she is his only care provider, day in, day out."

Due to the kindness of friends and the local Heart of the Hamptons organization, Raynor has been able to get his bathroom retrofitted; he has a motorized wheelchair, and a pulley system that is state-of-the-art, she continued.

"But he has minimal physical therapy, and needs a home health aide to help get him up in the mornings, to bathe and clothe him, and maybe provide his mom a small respite. Matt is grateful to be alive — living life on life's terms — and is an awesome guy," LeRoy said.

Despite the initial outpouring after the accident, LeRoy said there was a need to echo the call for help.

"Everyone is busy, and there are so many worthy and heart-wrenching stories out there. But I bonded with Matt. We share a wicked, inappropriate sense of humor, and a love of the — I don't know — the juiciness of life," she said. "It is incomprehensible to me that this young man who is so full of grace and humor and acceptance can't get the care he needs."

His mother, she said, has been an "absolute angel," taking care of him basically full-time since he moved back home, but his benefits ran out, and while the assessments necessary are being explored, "there is this gap. He needs care, experienced care, and more PT than he's currently getting. And his mother needs a break. I just wanted to help," LeRoy said.

The response, LeRoy said, has been nothing short of extraordinary. "It makes my heart soar," she said. "It's always the best of humanity when communities come together, and we have it in spades on the East End. People coming together to help people."

Down the line, LeRoy said she would love to see Raynor eligible for stem cell research, get a handicapped accessible studio, have full time care. "But one day at a time."

Talks are ongoing for future fundraising events, she said. "I'm just a conduit for these incredibly kind and generous souls who want to help," LeRoy said.

In the face of the unthinkable, Raynor's indomitable spirit shines strong. He's pouring his creative spirit and energy into his photography — his work focuses on his life out on the water as a fisherman — with a recent show at the Southampton Cultural Center.

"All of my art tells a story, it narrates a dying industry on Long Island," he said. "There is a dwindling fleet of fishing boats that are being crushed by government regulation. Each one of my images shows a cross section of a life at sea. It was also a celebration of the life that I once lived, and from here I can create new art as I become a new person. It’s very exciting to think about the possibilities of the new art that I can create."

Raynor credits his girlfriend Jackie Maloney and her friend Emma Ballou, who did an amazing job of displaying his art; both are artists, he said.

Despite the challenges he faces, Raynor sees beauty in the miracle of his survival — and in the kindness shown from every corner.

Leroy, he said, "is like an angel. I had a terrible infection and I was in the hospital; it really broke me. When I came back my mom tore her ligament in her arm and was unable to care for me. Then Bridget came out of nowhere with this fundraiser and raised all of this money for me so I can afford to pay out of pocket until I can get the health insurance sorted out. You have no idea how amazing that is. This is a crisis situation — and her fundraiser has really taken the pressure off of my mom, my girlfriend, and my family."

Overcome with gratitude, Raynor said he can't thank everyone enough for helping at a time when every cent counts.

"Even though something terrible happened to me, something beautiful has been shown to me by these donations and all the help people have given me," he said. "It seems like everyone is coming out of the woodwork and offering help."

For a recent fundraiser at the Boardy Barn, Raynor said his brother and his brother's fiance's family spent days putting together gift baskets from donations. "It was a beautiful thing. I can’t think everyone enough," he said.

When asked what about his inner character gives him the strength to face the future with such courage, Raynor does not hesitate. Commercial fishing helped him to deal with crisis situations and not lose his composure.

And, he said, there is an innate inner grit that guides him.

"I’ve always had the will to live a beautiful life, no matter what. There are many things I can do even though I’m paralyzed — and I look forward to doing all of them."

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