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Taylorsville man seriously injured while on vacation in Hawaii

Posted at 7:09 PM, Jan 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-02 21:09:08-05

HONOLULU – A Taylorsville, Utah man was seriously injured while vacationing in Hawaii.

On Thursday, Dec. 28, Aric Muhlestein dislocated his back while swimming in the waters off Waimea Bay.

He remembers the moment his body slammed against the water.

“All I did was jump into a wave and the next thing I knew, I was floating around and didn’t have any control of my arms or my legs,” Muhlestein said from his hospital bed in Honolulu.

Aric is now partially paralyzed.  He has feeling in his shoulders and hands, but he can no longer walk.  Despite this sudden, tragic event, he remains positive.

“Life is a journey,” he said.  “You control the stuff that you can control and everything outside of that, I need to stop worrying about.

When he returns home, he hopes to go to a hospital in Colorado for 100 days of rehabilitation.

“My hope is that I can walk again,” Muhlestein said.  “I’m shooting for the stars and I’m just going to stay positive.”

He wants to warn other people who take vacations, to be aware about the dangers of new experiences.  He wishes he would have done more research about the vicious North Shore, Hawaii waters.  If he had, he may not have suffered this tragedy.

“We really didn’t anticipate this to happen, but I think it’s great for the awareness,” Muhlestein said.  “Even if you’re in California, jumping into the waves, just be cautious about it.”

You can help Aric with his medical costs by contributing to a GoFundMe page set up to help the family.

https://www.gofundme.com/please-help-support-the-muhlesteins