Jeremy Durand

Asked what happened, Jeremy Durand apologizes.

“I can’t remember,” he says.

On Sunday, June 13, 2010, Durand was tubing with family and friends on Little River near the Fishville community in Grant Parish.

From what Durand has been told, he can piece together the events.

Jeremy was tubing behind a boat being driven by his dad.

His dad had to turn the boat quickly to avoid a submerged tree top. While the boat managed to avoid the tree, the tube was a different matter. Jeremy was thrown into the tree top.

Witnesses reported Durand spent around a minute face down in the water before the boat could circle back and he could be pulled into it. He was not breathing. His dad started CPR, while someone else called 911.

Durand was transported to Rapides Regional Medical Center, which was in the process of becoming a verified Level II Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons. Durand was the first Level I trauma activation for the Rapides Regional Trauma Center. Level I activations are for the most critical patients.

Durand spent four days in a coma and six days in the intensive care unit.

After a total of 12 days at Rapides Regional, Durand was transferred to Touro Rehabilitation Center in New Orleans. He was able to return home to Grant Parish on July 2.

Durand, 22, says he still experiences a few difficulties from his accident, but they haven’t been enough to prevent him from returning to school at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where he is a sophomore majoring in kinesiology. He was back at school two months after his accident.

“I was pretty lucky,” Durand admits. “I was very pleased” with the care at Rapides. “They did an amazing job.”