ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Justin Curd’s departure from Bayfront Health St. Petersburg was a big deal for a lot of people.
“Just the entire hospital was pulling for him," Bayfront Health St. Petersburg trauma surgeon Dr. Laura Julan said. "Everybody knew about it. It was a famous case. Everybody was asking about him every single day."
When he first got here in June, doctors were not sure he’d survive.
“Honestly, I don’t remember any part of it," Curd said. "I just remember waking up in the hospital."
Curd, a charter captain who's been fishing all his life, was thrown into the water when his boat collided with rocks and the seawall.
The boat ran him over, and doctors say the propeller nearly tore him apart. His abdominal muscles are gone, and so are many of his ribs.
“I didn’t think I was going to see him again," Curd's mother, Cristi Curd, said. "I didn’t think I’d make it to the hospital in time."
Curd pulled himself to land before paramedics got there.
“It was the worst call of my life when I got there, and now knowing the outcome, it’s the best call of my life,” paramedic Ann Marie O’Brien said.
Dr. Julan said that it was one of the worst things they'd ever seen.
"Usually, we see injuries to the extremities, things like that," she continued. "But we’ve never had such a bad propeller injury."
It took 73 days, and Curd still has a long way to go, but he is going home.
“The trauma team is amazing," Cristi said. "The stuff that they do. I can’t thank them enough."
He'll be able to get back to the dog he's missed and, eventually, to the water.
“I felt like it was never going to end, but I finally get to go home," Curd said. "It was all worth it."
