Steven Cericola was a bit of a wild child. One of six siblings, he was labeled by classmates as the "guy most likely to be dead at 25." But even in his heady youth, he was athletic. He started swimming in the ocean at age 10. He was a competitive distance swimmer in high school.
Eventually, Steve got serious about his life, attending Johns Hopkins University part-time to earn a degree in mechanical
engineering, and settling down with his wife Robyn.
So, it was quite ironic that he would have a near-death experience while swimming during a family vacation in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
"I body-surfed in on one of the waves ... I heard all this screaming and commotion so when I turned around to see what was happening, the wave was crashing, was pretty much almost up to my face level," he said. "I was tumbling around in the wave like you were a load of laundry in a dryer."
Steve was slammed into the ground with a force so hard, he thought he hit a rock. That's when he had an other-worldly experience.
"I was face down in that water, in that warm, serene pocket for, it felt like a long time, that's all I can tell you. And then the next thing I know I felt like it was this kind of like a nudge, like a nudge like, 'You can't stay, you have to go,'" he said.
Steve estimates he was under water for maybe a minute, but he doesn't know for sure. He does know that when he was about to let go of his remaining breath, his nephew pulled him to the surface.
Steve was badly injured, his body radiating with severe nerve pain. Taken to the hospital, he had spinal surgery the next day followed by a long period of rehab. The arduous journey back to health has had its highs and lows, and Steve says he still feels residual pain and numbness. But one thing he is sure of — he was being protected that day.
"I feel like sharing this story with people just to let them know there's something more out there," he said. "There's something way better than here. No one can convince me otherwise."
Steve has been a friend of mine since high school. He has been blessed with a close family, a good career, and a deep faith. I am thankful he's still with us today, and I am grateful that he shared his story with me.
If you want to talk to Steve about his experience, you can reach him on his Facebook or LinkedIn page. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy hearing his story on this week's episode of
Chiseled.