Chad DeSatnick | Cape May Realtor

This fall marks 25 years since the day that changed my life. It feels like the right time to finally sit down and tell the whole story.

On September 30, 2001, Hurricane Humberto was sending swell to Cape May. I was 24, surfing at Poverty Beach. On my fourth wave, I was thrown head-first into shallow water and shattered my C6 and C7 vertebrae. After an 11½-hour surgery, doctors told me I might never walk again, and that I would never surf again.

A lot has happened since then:

• Worked with Cape May City Council to create a beach safety program for local students and put shore break warning signs at every beach entrance

• Brought Life Rolls On’s They Will Surf Again to New Jersey. It grew from 12 adaptive surfers to around 100, with 500+ volunteers every summer @liferollsonfoundation

• Helped organize the first Cape May Golf Tournament, which raised over $250,000 for Life Rolls On

• Founded the DeSatnick Foundation in 2013 to support people living with paralysis in South and Central Jersey @desatnick_foundation

• 12 years of the Around the Cape Paddle, our biggest annual fundraiser

• Grants for power wheelchairs, home lifts, vehicle modifications and therapy, plus beach wheelchairs for 10 shore towns from Cape May to Ocean Grove

• Named Life Rolls On Volunteer of the Year in 2015

None of this would have been possible without my wife, Martina. She’s my saving grace.
I’ve told parts of this story over the years.

This time, I’m telling all of it. The interview is coming soon.