A New Zealander paralysed in a surfing accident in Australia says the injury is his “worst nightmare”, but is vowing to beat the odds and walk again.  

Johnny Konings, 31, was taking on the popular break at Duranbah on the Tweed Heads last Tuesday when a wipeout slammed him into a sandbar, breaking his spine and ribs, and leaving him with a collapsed lung.  

Other surfers rushed to hold him above the water and carry him to shore, where he was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital by air.  

Experienced surfer Konings, who played football for Hamilton Wanderers and Ngāruawāhia United in New Zealand, had shifted to the Gold Coast with fiancee Charlotte Gordon and the pair were planning their wedding when the accident happened. 

Johnny Konings was recently engaged to Charlotte Gordon. Photo / @johnnyykonings 

Now paralysed from the waist down, a tearful Konings told 9News he “knew straight away” when he surfaced and said the injury was his “worst nightmare”. 

“Life as we currently knew it changed in an instant,” Gordon wrote in an online GoFundMe appeal. 

Saying that the pair were “eternally grateful” for the actions of surfers and lifeguards who carried Konings from the water, Gordon wrote they “remain incredibly positive” about the future, despite admitting to 9News that Konings’ prognosis was “not the best”. 

She said the couple were “going to throw everything we possibly can at this”. 

“Day by day those that know Johnny know he doesn’t give up easy,” she said. 

“We have a long road ahead, but he’s alive, his sense of humour is still intact and there’s a lot of positivity coming from this hospital ward.” 

Johnny Konings and Charlotte Gordon in hospital. The couple were engaged in January. Photo / @johnnyykonings 

Konings says he is “extremely determined” to walk out of hospital and told followers on Instagram: “I’m walking outta here. Mark my words.” 

The couple, who were engaged in January, were due to be back in Aotearoa this week celebrating their engagement with family, but instead held a small celebration at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. 

Gordon has been chronicling their journey online, saying they are “taking it day by day” and choosing to “focus on the wins”. 

In her latest update, she shared a sweet video of the loved-up couple walking along the beach, writing: “We both go to sleep every night dreaming and visualising walking along the beach together.”