A teenager suffered a severe neck injury while swimming on June 23 in New Hampshire and is currently hospitalized in Boston.

Aiden Sloan, 19, was diving into a wave on a hot afternoon when he unexpectedly hit a sandbar, resulting in a broken neck, his mother told NBC 10 Boston.

“They were diving into the waves like kids do,” Melina Burton said. “And there was a sandbar that nobody could have known was there, so he dove through a wave and he hit the sandbar head-on.”

Michael Henry and Gabriel Ruiz, Sloan’s cousins, were quick to realize something was amiss. “We looked at his eyes,” Henry said. “They were, like, bulging out of his face.”

Reacting swiftly, they dragged him ashore after discovering that he wasn’t breathing, he added.

“It was like we were carrying a dead body,” Ruiz recounted, noting that he was not moving.

Burton expressed deep gratitude towards Michael and Gabriel for their quick response, according to Fox News Digital. “They’re actually really great kids, and they’re handling it so well,” she said. “I said ‘I am so, so grateful to you for rescuing my boy and pulling him out of the water,’ because he probably would not even be here today if you had not done that. So I will forever be grateful.”

Sloan was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to CBS Boston. He could move his arms but had no feeling in his hands or fingers and struggled to move his legs, according to a June 27 update on a GoFundMe page opened in his name. The page has raised over $42,000 as of publication.

“Aiden joined our Greenleaf family at a young age and we watched him grow as a person and a cook over the years and he and his family have our full support during these difficult times,” Greenleaf Milford, Sloan’s employer, posted to Facebook.

Burton strived to remain positive, according to CBS Boston. “Being his mom has been my greatest accomplishment,” she said, holding on to hope that he will make a full recovery.