Surf Life Saver recovers from near-death experience

To raise money for their expensive rescue equipment, their annual appeal has just kicked off. This year it's being supported by one volunteer who had his own near-death experience.

Tyler Farnham was an experienced sky diver whose life changed in April 2009 when an otherwise routine jump went wrong.

His main canopy deployed, but he instantly knew something was wrong as he was spinning violently out of control.

Mr Farnham hit the ground at full force. Miraculously he survived, but not without horrific injuries - breaking both legs, his right arm in two places, several bones in his face and smashing nine teeth, along with other injuries too graphic to mention.

"The femur completely blew out of my right leg. It was like a small bomb went off," says Mr Farnham. The X-ray is just unbelievable - you just see scattered bits of bone throughout my femur. They nearly had to amputate the leg."

He was put in a five-day induced coma. Permanent steel rods were put in both legs, temporary ones in his arm, a chain in his chin, and pins to anchor his jaw, which was wired shut for two months.

"When I woke up it was my 26th birthday, April 16, and I'm alive… I was just happy to be alive, but at the same time kind of scared, because I didn't know what the future held."

Mr Farnham had to re-learn how to walk and how to use his arms, and most of all how to come to terms with what had happened - and think only of the positives.

"I started to think okay well, I brushed my teeth today, got out of my bed a little bit easier than I did before, and I started writing everything down - I started just journaling - with my left hand since I still couldn't use my right."

Surf life saving became a big positive in his life. Mr Farnham's travelled the world surfing and volunteering as a life guard at some of the most dangerous beaches, which is what he'll be doing here over the summer.

"When you actually get in the water and you save somebody's life and they look at you right in the eyes, you can tell it's very genuine and they thank you for helping them, it's just a feeling like nothing else."

In fact, every year, 4000 life guards spend over 200,000 hours patrolling beaches around New Zealand, rescuing an average of 1200 people per year.

And as for sky diving, Mr Farnham says if you really want to jump out of a plane, it's a "great idea".

"Just remember to pull, you know?"

3 News