Foil accident survivor rebuilds life after rare surgery

Makalii Andrade’s accident was the kind of foil failure that changes a life in an instant, not a wipeout to replay for style points. In December 2022, while tow-in hydrofoil surfing off Hanalei on Kauai, the blade attached to the bottom of his board sliced through his neck, severing his trachea and larynx.

Andrade was rescued by a jet ski team and rushed ashore, where the response widened fast. Archie Kalepa was among those who helped save him, and the emergency chain stretched from tow team members and bystanders to an off-duty doctor or medic, lifeguards, firefighters, ambulance medics, emergency room staff and surgeons. He was treated at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai by otolaryngologist Dr. Ross Shockley and other emergency staff.

The injury cut to the center of what makes foiling both fast and vulnerable: the equipment is exposed beneath the waterline, and when the board, foil and rider collide, the damage can be catastrophic. Andrade did not just survive a violent impact. He survived a neck injury that threatened the airway, speech and long-term recovery.

His background made the rescue even more personal for Kauai. Andrade is a firefighter and waterman, and he has served with the Kauai Fire Department for more than 25 years. That local connection showed up again in the support around him, as family, first responders and medical teams stayed involved long after the initial emergency on the beach.

The final phase of that recovery came in Nashville, where Andrade underwent surgery at Vanderbilt Health in May 2026. The operation focused on vocal reconstruction and nerve grafting to address severe vocal cord injury and paralysis. Vanderbilt said the technique was learned in France in 2021 and had been performed only six other times by Vanderbilt physicians, underscoring how specialized the procedure was.

Andrade’s case has become more than a comeback story. It is a detailed lesson in foil risk, rescue and recovery, and in how much can hinge on the response after an accident. For riders pushing into hydrofoils, e-foils, wingfoils and assist systems, his injury is a reminder that speed and progression come with a hard edge, and that survival often depends on the people and medical teams around the rider as much as on the rider alone.