Teen lifeguard suffers spinal injuries after saving drowning child in North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Wednesday will mark two weeks at WakeMed hospital for a 19-year-old lifeguard who injured his spine jumping into a pool to save a child .

Youssef Bounagui relies on others to describe how he hurt himself, unable to fully remember the day.

“I don’t remember what happened that day, but they said the kid was in distress,” Bounagui said. “I jumped to save him, got hurt, but even though I was hurt and lost a few teeth, I still went to swim and got the kid out.”

He’s doing better but has a long way to go.

“Even yesterday, for example, I wasn’t able to wiggle my toes,” Bounagui said. “Just not doing something you’ve been doing every day for your entire life, it’s been very hard.”

A certain group of visitors this week helped make things brighter. A group of Raleigh Firefighters, including a captain and the department chaplain, made a surprise visit Monday.

“It made my week, it made me very happy,” Bounagui said.

The group thanked Bounagui for his heroism and encouraged him in recovery. They gave him a Raleigh Fire Department cap, water bottle, and sweatshirt. Bounagui is working to become a firefighter himself.

CBS 17 asked him why he wanted to become a firefighter.

“The same reason why I want to become a lifeguard,” Bounagui said. “The idea of helping people to me, it’s been my purpose.”

It’s help he saw firsthand when firefighters were the first to respond to a family emergency.

“It’s when I knew I wanted to become a firefighter,” Bounagui said.

A goal that’s not changing, even though the work to get there has.

“To have this setback really hurt me, but when they came in, it motivated me a lot,” Bounagui said.

Bounagui is working on standing with the help of others. On Wednesday, he’ll be starting rehab at WakeMed. He expects to remain in the hospital for weeks.

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