Musician Nash
suppressed pain by
envisioning sunset
A pleasant memory helps the
By Tim Ryan
famous rock musician avoid
feeling the pain from his
two broken legs
Star-BulletinWhile legendary rocker Graham Nash lay on the deck of a 42-foot power boat with both legs and an ankle shattered, the lead singer of Crosby, Stills & Nash "refused" to think about the agonizing pain during the two-hour ocean journey off Kauai to medical aid, instead fixating on a pleasant memory.
"I realized I was in very bad shape," says Nash, sitting gingerly in a new lounge chair in his north shore Kauai home. "I just decided to ignore everything below my waist, block it out . ...
"In my mind I saw that glorious sunset from a visit here two months ago with my friends."
Nash, 57, broke both legs Sept. 12. The trough of a "freak" wave sent his vessel plunging, lofting the singer into the air, then the crest of the next wave rapidly pushed the boat's deck up into the descending Nash.
"I heard my leg snap; I felt it break in half," he said Saturday in his first interview since the accident. "I have to say it was an amazing sound."
Nash is remarkably cheery, relaxing in his two-story home of 22 years.
"I would get up, but as you can see I have a bit of a problem," said Nash, wearing a rayon aloha shirt and shorts.
According to Nash, the tibia of his left leg "snapped completely in half," and the smaller bone behind the tibia also broke. In addition, the tibia in his right leg broke, as did the ankle.Following the 4-hour surgery, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Hayato Mori at Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue inserted into the left leg a titanium rod, Nash said. On the right leg, a titanium rod was used as sort of a splint against the broken bone. The rods were secured with screws, and an ankle plate was attached to his right broken ankle.
"It'll be a bit hard getting through an airport metal detector," Nash joked.
Here's what happened, according to Nash, who with his wife Susan and son Will, 19, were on the last day of a week-long visit to their Kauai home the day of the accident.
The Nashes and 22 others were on a family excursion along the Na Pali Coast in the all-aluminum powerboat Northwind owned by friends Rick and Amy Marvin.
The group left Hanalei Bay at noon, cruising to Makole -- popularly known as Treasure Beach -- near Polihale along the Na Pali for an afternoon of snorkeling. About 20 minutes into the return trip to Hanalei Bay in strong head winds and rough seas, the accident occurred.
"The boat was going up and down, up and down," says Nash, who had been on the bow of the boat with buddy Billy Long. "Occasionally, we would be lifted about a foot off the deck by the boat's sudden descent into a trough."
Swells had been spaced apart about 20 feet when suddenly a larger wave sucked the boat into its trough, said Long. Then the boat slammed into the crest of the next wave.
The two men had been airborne about 3 feet when the boat slid into the trough, Nash said.
"The impact of the deck on my legs snapped them like twigs," he said.
Long, a medic during the Vietnam war, covered Nash with a blanket.
Crew member Dane Smith gently held Nash's legs to prevent them from moving. Long and Smith moved Nash into a more comfortable position, while son Will and wife Susan put a pillow behind the musician's back and towels under his head.
Then Nash started thinking about the sunset he had witnessed two months earlier.
The boat arrived at Port Allen about 6 p.m., where the Kauai Fire Department, an ambulance from Wilcox Memorial Hospital and several taxi cabs waited.
At Wilcox Memorial, Dr. Mori told Nash he wanted to operate that night to stabilize the breaks. Nash was surprised he needed surgery.
"I looked into the man's eyes and I told him, "I trust you completely. Rock on.' "
Nash said the doctors expect him to be walking a bit in six weeks but he might need a wheel chair for up to three months.
"I plan to be walking just fine by Christmas."
