Yurik Resetnikov was always comfortable in the water, on the beaches of Hawaii or in the surf.
It had been a major part of his life since he was a child. Surfing, swimming, diving, boating or fishing ... water was his friend, a place where he felt at home, in control.
Until Oct. 12, 2015.
Yurik Resetnikov said he loved working as a firefighter to serve and help others. He still doing that now in a different capacity.
| Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation
Resetnikov was body-surfing off Sandy Beach on Oahu with members of the Kai Opua Canoe Club. He was the coach, and it was the day after a race between islands, so a beach party was tradition. The day was winding down when he went into the water one more time.
“Done it 1,000 times,” Resetnikov recalled to Big Island Times.
But this one ended far different than the previous ventures into the waves.
“I just hit the bottom. I remember it completely,” he said. “I knew I was paralyzed when I hit the bottom.”
Resetnikov had fractured his spine in two places, severing the sixth and seventh cervical vertebra. He was unable to move and started to drown.
When lifeguards found him, he was in shock. They performed CPR, but his brain was without oxygen for 15-16 minutes, Resetnikov said, and he had swallowed a great deal of salt water and sand.
“I woke up in an ambulance,” Resetnikov said. “There my new life started.”
He was taken to the Queen's Medical Center and placed in the intensive care unit. Unable to speak, he faced a long recovery but hoped to return to work. He soon realized that was out of the question.
“When that first happened, my initial response was, I was just in shock that it happened,” Resetnikov said. “I thought, ‘Hey, what do I have to do to get better?' That’s how I adapted to it.”
He said he doesn’t get down or depressed, adding, “That’s not me.”
He still uses a phrase that he was known for as a firefighter: “Can’t hurt steel.”
Resetnikov has very limited mobility as a quadriplegic. He can use his arms but not his hands or fingers. But he has become adept in a wheelchair, relearned to drive and lift weights.
He’s also back in the water, and surfing once again.
“I can’t stand anymore, but I can ride the waves,” Resetnikov said.
A year after the accident, he was back in a canoe in the Queen Liliuokalani Long Distance race. He was coaching again, urging people to succeed. It’s a role he has embraced once more.
He speaks to others who face a major challenge, including veterans. Resetnikov said he tells them to keep moving forward and to learn and grow.
“Now I feel like I’m living my life,” he said. “I’m a lot happier now.”
Resetnikov said the accident feels like it was inevitable.
“I think it was meant to happen,” he said. “I’ve changed. I’ve stopped drinking, not that I drank that much. I’ve cleaned up that part of my life. I’m helping people.”
He works with Surf for Special Needs, which provides therapeutic ocean experiences for disabled people, those on the autism spectrum, the elderly and others who face extraordinary challenges in life.
“I try to be as involved as I can be,” Resetnikov said.
He did before the accident, when he worked as a firefighter for more than a decade. Resetnikov was among 14 firefighters honored by the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation in 2015 for meritorious service above and beyond the call of duty.
Resetnikov was born in Queens, New York, but he has virtually no memory of life there. When he was around 3, his parents split up and his mom, Heidi Teves, moved to Hawaii.
The Big Island was a great place to grow up, he said.
“I really didn’t remember New York,” Resetnikov said. “I just always loved it here.”
He spent most of the time outdoors, surfing, fishing and diving. He attended Konawaena High School, where he played football and soccer, but was restless and unable to focus, so he dropped out. Resetnikov later earned a GED.
He joined the Air Force and served two years while stationed in San Diego. When he returned to Hawaii. Resetnikov worked as a concrete and pavement inspector before landing a job as a firefighter for the city and county of Hawaii.
It was a perfect fit, combining his love for being active and the outdoors with the opportunity to assist people in times of crisis. Resetnikov said it’s hard to put into words what he enjoyed the most.
“Just everything,” he said. “Helping people, helping my community. I had a very blessed career.”
Resetnikov said he was with the department 12 years and was moving into rescue work and search and rescue. He was young, strong and ready to serve for many more years.
At 6-foot-4-inches and 280 pounds, he was a powerful man who seemed to have unlimited potential. Then came the accident.
It’s been a difficult adjustment, Resetnikov admitted, adding, “I miss my job more than I do my legs.”
The aftermath was filled with challenges. After a few months, he and his wife split up. But he is still close to his daughters, Kona, 17, and Mehana, 15.
Recently, he started a relationship with a woman he has known for many years, Petra Hemphill. It’s another reason to look forward to each day.
Hemphill said they had been friends before their romance bloomed. Her sister and his mother were close and she has known Resetnikov for many years. They became a couple this year.
“He’s funny, charismatic, he’s just colorful and handsome and strong,” she said.
Hemphill is 46 — “I’m the older woman,” she said with a chuckle — and said they have basically a normal relationship. They spend time together like most couples.
Mehana said she enjoys regular time with her father as well. They love to go to the beach, play with their dogs and “hang out.” She said while he was always a caring father, since the accident, he has found more time to spend with his family.
“He’s a lot more involved, not that he wasn’t involved before,” she said. “He was busy and had more responsibilities. I think he’s become a better father. He’s always been pretty good.”
Mehana said she is most impressed by his attitude.
“He’s optimistic and wants to keep going,” she said.
Resetnikov said that is his goal.
“Things happen. Life happens,” he said. “It’s the cards you are dealt. Life is not over. You play the hand you are dealt.”
Resetnikov said he has one major goal, noting, “I’d like to find a way to make life easier for all quadriplegics.”