Community members gather around a young Southern California lifeguard who suffered serious spinal cord injuries while on duty.
20-year-old Isaiah Osorio is an all-star athlete from Orange County and also works as a junior lifeguard instructor at Seal Beach.
On June 27th, he was teaching future lifeguards a variety of rescue techniques. An eyewitness said he was on the paddleboard and that it was taken over by the waves.
The sudden force led Osorio to hit his head on the seabed, and his family said “they were instantly changing and instantly changing the life-changing spinal cord injury.”
He continues to be hospitalized Wednesday night, with community members gathering to support his recovery.
Community members are gathering around Isaya Osorio, 20, a young lifeguard who suffered a serious spinal cord injury while working at Seal Beach. (Osorio Family) community members gather around Isaya Osorio, 20, a young lifeguard who suffered a serious spinal cord injury while working at Seal Beach. (Osorio family)
Sean Nollan, executive director of the Los Alamitos Aquatics Foundation, has been Osorio’s Waterpolo coach for many years.
“That’s heartbreaking,” Nolan said. “You have a child who grew up in the community and has committed to Aquatics. We have a few kids here who are junior guards for him.
Osorio began working as a Seal Beach Lifeguard in June 2023. He graduated from Los Alamitos High School and was planning to start school at UCLA in the fall.
His friends and family said he hopes to see him on campus soon, even if his rehabilitation is long.
“I know it’s a long way, but I know that’s what everyone wants,” Nolan said. “They want to see him enjoying the water, and that’s what he loves.”
Here is the GoFundMe page and his rehabilitation to support Osorio’s family with medical costs.
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