The 35-year-old gas engineer is an experienced swimmer but tragedy struck at the end of 2023 at Langland Bay, after he dived into a wave while swimming.
Richards was injured after the force of a wave rotated his body resulting in the back of his head hitting the sand with all Dan remembering being a ‘loud noise’ and a ‘very bright light’ before opening his eyes underwater.
Dan knew straight away that something had gone wrong when he could see his limbs but not move them, so he held his breath. It was only when a wave turned him he could shout for help.
“It was instant, there was a loud noise, bright light, and then I opened my eyes underwater and could just see my arms and legs but had no control over them. It was surreal,” explained Dan.
“I was probably thigh-deep in the water, just wading, and a wave was coming in, so the plan was to shallow dive into the base of the wave and come up the other side as normal, but as I’ve got into the wave, it has rotated me, and the back of my head hit the sand, and with my momentum going forward and the weight of the wave, it broke my neck, it was that quick.
“It was in kind of a shock, but I was more focused on holding my breath because I couldn’t use my arms or legs, and then the next wave rolled me over. It was just waiting until I could shout out.
“I probably would have been more panicked if I was on my own, but it was knowing that help wasn’t far away. The only reason I’m here is because we were out together.
“They got me off the beach, and paramedics got me warm and on medication for the pain and I was in and out of consciousness until the helicopter came.”
Dan was airlifted from Langland Bay to Bristol Southmead Hospital, where it was determined that he’d been paralysed from the neck down. Dan has since been moved closer to home and faces a long and difficult journey of rehabilitation ahead of him.
It’s for this reason that Anna has set up a GoFundMe in the hopes of raising money to go towards supporting her partner to give him the best quality of life possible.
Anna wrote that one of Dan’s goals was to continue to be the best dad for his three-year-old daughter Hailey and while they don’t know exactly what his rehabilitation will look like, the help that can be provided is much appreciated.
Seeking to raise £50,000 on the fundraising website, Dan’s appeal is more than halfway to the goal after over 1,000 generous donors put together more than £32,000 in an attempt to help.
On 26 January, an update on Dan’s condition let donors know that the 35-year-old was able to move his toe, with Anna writing that it was ‘positive progress’ even if it seemed like a small development.
“After what’s been a very difficult week with Dan being told he has a bloody clot in his groin we have some exciting news, Dan moved his toe today! It may seem small but this is positive progress,” said Anna.
“Dan’s determination and mindset continue to impress us all… he’s not able to do this all the time but there was definite movement which he was trying to achieve.
“We thank you all for everything as now not only is Dan pushing for himself and his family he’s doing this for everyone who has donated or shared the post. We couldn’t be more grateful.”
The couple have said that the support they’ve been shown has been ‘overwhelming’, with one of the people donating being ‘a gentleman on a ward upstairs that has heard about our story’.
The money donated in the GoFundMe set up by Anna will ‘contribute to Dan’s ability to access the best rehabilitation to meet his needs and alleviate financial worries’.
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
[Lead image: GoFundMe/AnnaThomas]
