Injured Mayor Is Improving After Accident

Fullerton Mayor A.B. (Buck) Catlin’s condition was upgraded from fair to good Saturday, two days after a bodysurfing accident in Laguna Beach.

Catlin, 71, appears to have suffered no permanent injury from the accident, but he and family members did not want the extent of his injuries released, said Susie Fitch, a nurse at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills.

“He’s doing really good,” she said.

Fitch said doctors will consider transferring him out of the intensive-care unit Monday and might transfer him to St. Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fullerton, which is closer to Catlin’s home and family physician.

Catlin probably will require one or two weeks in that hospital, where he is expected to undergo therapy to help him recuperate, Fitch said.

If Catlin’s recovery requires him to miss the upcoming July 3 council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Chris Norby will take his place.

The bodysurfing accident occurred Thursday afternoon on the beach near the Surf & Sand Hotel, where Catlin and his wife, Bobbie, were staying to celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary. A wave apparently threw him headfirst into the sand, causing possible neck and spine injuries, a Fire Department spokesman said.