Two days ago, during a morning surf at Burleigh Point, Wes Berg broke his neck. “This morning, I [sic] surfer Pumping Burleigh Point and went headfirst into the shallow sandbank, breaking by C4 and C5,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m extremely lucky and have feeling in my arms and legs and movement and mobility.”
Berg plays an integral role in a few world tour surfers’ fitness levels. An accomplished Ironman himself, he developed a training regime for Joel Parkinson, which they then turned into an app called Pro Surf Training.
Berg remains optimistic. “Long road to recovery,” he wrote. “In this collar for a couple of months with restricted movement, but not near as bad as some.”
According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, Berg fell on his second wave of the morning. Berg said he “heard a crack and momentarily lost feeling to his left side,” but managed to make his way to shore and then drive himself to Robina Hospital. “I was just fortunate that I could sneak around the surf back to the sand and I got feeling back after about a minute and a half,” he said to the Gold Coast Bulletin from his hospital bed. “It was pretty traumatic at the time for me, being in the water and not being in control. I came up and didn’t have any movement in my left side of my body.”
An outpouring of love and support for Berg prompted him to write a thank you note. “I can’t express enough how grateful and overwhelmed I am by all the kind messages, calls and people sharing their experiences of common injuries,” he wrote. “Thank you very much. Means a lot. I feel all the positive vibes from everyone and realise how lucky and fortunate I am to be able to walk and move. The road to recovery begins. Thank you.”
Berg in the hospital after breaking his neck. Photo: GCB