ticking student debt is a crisis. Americans owe 1. 5 trillion. The burden for medical students is especially heavy. But now one of the countrys top schools has come up with a radical solution. The n. Y. U. School of medicine is now a tuition free medical school cheers and applause oh, my god saving these students more than 200,000 each with the hope that one day, if youre dealing with a patient who cant afford to have something done you might say its on me. ticking the giant waves appear off nazaree, portugal, every winter, just as they have for thousands of years. Few surfers knew about this place, until Garrett Mcnamara was towed into this 78foot wave by a jet ski. He had a camera mounted on his surfboard, and one on the shore, recording him as he got into place, let go of the tow rope, and began his recordsetting ride. ticking im steve kroft. Im lesley stahl. Im scott pelley. Im anderson cooper. Im bill whitaker. 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Ah, it ended to soon. With the advantage fleaction plan. Just look at him hes a wreck without me, ha. Owww. Fight the misery of infesting fleas. Depend® fitflex underwear for all day fun. Features maximum absorbency, ultra soft fabric and new beautiful designs for your best comfort and protection guaranteed. Lifes better when youre in it. Be there with depend®. Pelley in 2016 and 17, 25 americans, including c. I. A. Agents, who worked in the u. S. Embassy in cuba suffered serious brain injuries, causing impaired vision and memory loss, among other persistent problems. Now, we have learned that at least 15 american officials in china suffered unexplained brain trauma soon after. As we first reported in march, the f. B. I. Is now investigating whether these americans were attacked by a mysterious weapon that leaves no trace. Over many months, we have been collecting evidence of what appears to be a hostile foreign governments plan to target americans serving abroad and their families. Mark lenzi for me, it was november of 2017, when i started to feel lightheaded a lot. I was getting more headaches. My wife was getting headaches, too. Pelley mark lenzi is a state Department Security officer who worked in the u. S. Consulate in guangzhou, china. He says that he and his wife began to suffer after hearing strange sounds in their apartment. Lenzi picture holding a marble. Then, picture if you had, like, a sixfoot in diameter funnel, metal funnel. The sound that marble would make as it goes around, and it progressively gets faster as it gets, goes down towards the hole at the end. Its a sound like ive never heard before. Pelley was this subtle . Like, did i hear that . Lenzi no. It was it was actually somewhat loud. I heard it about three or four times, always in the same spot. Always over my sons crib, and always right before we would go to bed. Pelley lenzi wears prescribed glasses because sensitivity to light is among his persistent symptoms. Lenzi the symptoms were progressively getting worse with me. My headaches were getting worse. The most concerning symptom for me was memory loss, especially shortterm memory loss. Pelley mark lenzi believes he was targeted because of his work. He uses top secret equipment to analyze electronic threats to diplomatic missions. Lenzi there is no shadow of a doubt in my mind that this was a directed attack against my neighbor and i. Pelley his neighbor was Catherine Werner, who lived one floor up. Shes a u. S. Commerce department trade officer who promoted American Business from the guangzhou consulate. Catherine werner i woke up in the middle of the night, and i could feel this sound in my head. It was intense pressure on both of my temples. At the same time, i heard this low humming sound, and it was oscillating. And i remember looking around for where this sound was coming from, because it was painful. Pelley when did you first notice that you werent feeling well . Werner october of 2017, i started to get hives all over my body. Really bad hives. I woke up with headaches every day. I started to feel tired. The simplest things would just make me very, very tired. Pelley were these symptoms growing worse over time . Werner they were, yes. My symptoms would get so bad that i would throw up, or i would wake up with nose bleeds. Pelley she says even her dogs were throwing up blood. Werner assumed her illness was connected to chinas toxic smog. She didnt know it at the time, but her symptoms were the same that american officials in havana had suffered since 2016. The u. S. Embassy there is all but closed as a result. Werner we hadnt heard about what happened in cuba. I mean, there were headlines in the news about hearing loss, and attacks to our diplomats, but we didnt know the details. Pelley Catherine Werner became so ill, her mother traveled from the u. S. To live with her. Werner she spent almost three months with me. During that time, she also got very ill. And she and i shared the same symptoms. Pelley what sort of symptoms did your mother have . Werner headaches. And ringing in our ears. We also started to both have difficulty recalling words. Pelley after reporting her experiences, werner was medically evacuated to the u. S. For treatment. U. S. Agencies are investigating, but mark lenzi has a theory. Lenzi this was a directed standoff attack against my apartment. Pelley it was a weapon . Lenzi oh, of course it was a weapon. Pelley an Energy Weapon . Lenzi absolutely. Pelley what sort of energy is this that were talking about . Lenzi i believe its r. F. , radio frequency energy, in the microwave range. Pelley a clue that supports that theory was revealed by the National Security agency in 2014. This n. S. A. Statement describes such a weapon as a highpowered microwave system weapon that may have the ability to weaken, intimidate, or kill an enemy over time without leaving evidence. The statement goes on to say, this weapon is designed to bathe a targets living quarters in microwaves. The n. S. A. Disclosed this in a Workers Compensation case, filed by former n. S. A. Employee mike beck. Pelley when you look back across your career, is there any incident that leads you to believe that it could be responsible for your parkinsons disease . Mike beck yes. Pelley in the 1990s, beck and an n. S. A. Coworker were on assignment overseas. Years later, he says, they developed parkinsons disease at the same time. Beck in 1996, a colleague of mine, chuck gubete, and i traveled to a hostile country and worked there for about a week. And i cant say where the hostile country the identity of it. Pelley because its still classified . Beck yes. Pelley but it was not cuba or china. You believe that you and chuck gubete were attacked with this microwave weapon . Beck yes. I had a pretty good working knowledge of the hostile countrys intelligence services, what they do to people, what they have done, what their modus operandi is. Pelley mike beck says more intelligence has come in recently, which he shared in a classified briefing with congressional investigators. Pelley mike, you cant discuss any of these details because theyre all classified. But, in your opinion, does the new information that you briefed the house and Senate Intelligence Committee Staff on in any way relate to what happened in cuba and china . Beck its relevant to the cuba and china cases. Pelley no one has officially confirmed that what beck says happened to him is related to at least 40 americans injured in china and cuba. While beck suffers from parkinsons, the recent patients are being treated for the same kind of symptoms that doctors would expect from a concussion. Dr. Teena shetty so follow my fingers. Pelley dr. Teena shetty is mark lenzis neurologist. Shetty so mark initially came to me reporting symptoms of headache, memory loss, sleep difficulties, emotionality, and irritability. Pelley and what did you make of that in the early days . Shetty i was very surprised. He did not have any history of any trauma or blow to his head, but he reported a constellation of neurologic symptoms which are characteristic of mild traumatic brain injury, without any history of associated head trauma. Lenzi i still notice it, but that has improved. Pelley exactly how their brains were injured is the subject of a study at the university of Pennsylvania Center for brain injury and repair. Shetty still slightly wobbly. Pelley dr. Shetty is not part of that study. Shetty and align your knees for me. Pelley . But her patient, mark lenzi, is. Shetty the presumption is that something happened which caused a functional brain injury of widespread brain networks, because he has symptoms to reflect a multitude of brain networks. Pelley what doctor shetty describes mirrors the findings published so far by the university of pennsylvania study. Robyn garfield they have said that our symptoms are exactly what they saw in cuba, and that we have the full suite of findings that they had there. Pelley robyn and Britta Garfield are among the 40 Patients Enrolled in the university of pennsylvania study. Like Catherine Werner, Robyn Garfield is a trade officer with the commerce department. He was posted with his wife and two Young Children in shanghai. Robyn garfield i dont know when the sound started. I do know that it was for months on end. Britta garfield i was sitting next to robyn, and something, i felt like, hit me from the left side. And at first it felt like an electric shock, and then it paralyzed me, so i was not able to move or speak. Pelley it hit you so hard you felt like you were in danger in the room . Britta garfield yes. Pelley they say the children suffered blurred vision and loss of balance. Your daughter was literally falling down . Robyn garfield yes. She fell down multiple times that day. Britta garfield we went on a walk and she just fell on her face. It was very abnormal. She never does that. And then a second time, she completely lost her balance and just fell to the side. Pelley in 2018, the secretary of state Mike Pompeo Confirmed the case of Catherine Werner. U. Penn found her brain injuries matched the cuba victims. Mike pompeo we had an incident in guangzhou that the medical indications are very similar and entirely consistent with the medical indications that have taken place to americans working in cuba. Pelley but for reasons that are unclear, the state department is raising doubt about the other 14 china cases. The state departments medical office sent mark lenzi this note, that says we have reached the decision that your symptoms and findings do not correlate with the havana cohort. Lenzi they tried to deny it. They tried to cover it up. They tried to minimize it. Pelley why would the state department minimize this . Lenzi because its china. Because we have such a large trade relationship with them. You can push around cuba. Their trade, you know, relations are minimal. With china, thats a different beast, right . Pelley state department doctors told Robyn Garfield his illness stems from a baseball injury 17 years ago which does not explain his wife and children. Robyn garfield it is a very complicated geopolitical relationship between the u. S. And china. So that to me feels like why this determinations being made. Your benefits today that the for state department is refusing to call this an attack . Robyn garfield it has Significant Impact on our, our life, our finances. My career as well, likely. I have not been afforded time for my rehabilitation. Being classified as preexisting injury means that i dont have access to paid leave. It also means that after one year, my medical bills will not be covered currently. Pelley the china patients have the attention of at least one member of the Senate Foreign relations committee. Jeanne shaheen wrote secretary pompeo, the group from china is increasingly feeling isolated and left behind by the state department. The state department declined an interview, but in a statement to 60 minutes, it said, we will continue to provide our colleagues the care they need, regardless of their diagnosis or the location of their medical evacuation. A state Department Official told us that the cuba patients are victims of an attack, but state hasnt made the same determination for the china patients. The department has asked the National Academies of science to assist in the medical investigation. The f. B. I. Is also investigating. Intelligence sources told us that in addition to cuba and china, russia is a suspect. But if microwaves were used, the technology is not rare. It could be, more than one country is using it. U. S. Intelligence is still debating what caused the injuries. You were in harms way and you didnt know it. Werner exactly. I didnt know it. And im afraid that others may be in harms way and may not know it. I dont know what the future looks like for me, but i would do anything in my power to prevent this from happening to somebody else serving their country. Pelley in july, the medical team from the university of pennsylvania published a second study about the victims from cuba. Using advanced brain imaging, they were able to present the first Scientific Evidence that the diplomats did in fact have physical damage to the structure of their brains. ticking how do you report on the invisible . Were there moments where you had doubts about what you were hearing . Yeah, i mean, frankly. Go to 60minutesovertime. Com sponsored by colaguard. Cologuard colon Cancer Screening for people 50 and older at average risk. Ive heard a lot of excuses to avoid screening for colon cancer. Im not worried. 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Search and share for free at ancestry. Com. Apple card is here. And here. Its a new kind of credit card. Created by apple, not a bank. With a better way to track where you spend. Daily cash you get back every day. And a new level of privacy and security. Nice. Stahl going to medical school today takes more than ambition, good grades in biology in college, and an appetite for hard work. It takes a willingness to incur a crushing amount of debt. Student debt in general is in crisis in this country. All told, borrowers owe 1. 5 trillion more than people owe in Credit Card Debt or on car loans. People have borrowed money to attend medical school for decades, but the scale of the debt has skyrocketed in recent years, along with just about every other cost in health care. The average medical student now graduates with a debt burden as big as a home mortgage. As we first reported in april, one of americas top medical schools, n. Y. U. In new york, has come up with a radical solution. Announcer joseph babinski. Stahl its a tradition on the very first day of medical school. The socalled white coat ceremony a rite of passage for 24yearold joe babinski and his 100 classmates at new york university. Joe babinski its kind of this transition point, where you go from being a potential student, to a member of the medical community, even if youre at the bottom rung of the ladder still. Stahl yeah. Babinski and its its a pretty significant experience. It marks the beginning of your journey, so to say. Stahl as he began that journey, joe was expecting to take on a great burden. How much debt did you expect youd be taking on . Babinski i anticipated taking on about 200,000. Stahl i cant imagine starting life with that on your shoulders. But a lot of medical students, a lot of young doctors have that. Most . Babinski i would say most. Ezekiel emanuel graduating medical school, 85 , 86 of students have debt. Stahl dr. Ezekiel emanuel is chair of medical ethics and Health Policy at the university of pennsylvania. He says the prospect of so much debt prevents many people who could be great doctors from even applying to medical school. Emanuel most of us think that it really deters people from middle class and lower income families. They look at 200,000, it seems like a huge mountain to climb. And it gets scary. Stahl and it compounds, because youre not paying it off. Emanuel correct. And stahl so the interest grows. It gets worse. And thats a burden. I would think it it diverts attention from medical school as well, if you actually emanuel i think people are stressed by it. Stahl as a thirdyear n. Y. U. Med student Elaine Deleon felt that stress from day one. Could your family afford medical school . Elaine deleon definitely not. laughs definitely not. Deleon we are looking for pericholecystic fluid. Stahl her family is originally from the dominican republic. Her dad is a retired chef. Her mother died years ago. She agonized over her dream of being a doctor because of the cost. How much did you have to borrow for your first year . Deleon i borrowed 76,000, and if i were to pay that off in on a tenyear plan, it would be 100,000 by the time i paid it off. Stahl wow. And thats just your first year. Deleon thats just my first year. Stahl its unfathomable. Deleon yeah. But i think that ultimately, like, a life of serving is more important to me. And thats really what what, like, cinched it. That i i needed to pursue this, despite the debt that i would be accruing. Stahl elaines ambition is to be a primarycare doctor treating poor people, but she says that the debt burden forced her to consider a different choice. Deleon of course you hear the, like, s prime specialties, where you get paid the most. So you hear dermatology, you hear surgery, you hear all of these things. And so its easy, when youre coming in, to be, like, well, i paid a lot of money to be here, like, i should really get my moneys worth and try to pursue these more lucrative specialties. Stahl even if youre not interested. Deleon exactly. Or at least consider them. Stahl dr. Rafael rivera is dean of admissions at n. Y. U. Medical school. What are the betterpaying specialties . Rafael rivera generally speaking, some of the Surgical Specialties tend to pay well. Neurosurgery. You know, orthopedics pays well. The fields that tend to pay a little less are fields like pediatrics, and general internal medicine, family medicine. And stahl and those are the doctors we have lacking. We dont have enough of those doctors. Rivera by 2030, well have a shortage of up to 49,000 primary care docs. Stahl that huge shortage, that distortion of the medical profession, is directly linked to the mountains of debt. And on the day of that white coat ceremony last august, n. Y. U. Decided to do something about it. Something dramatic. After all the firstyear students had filed back to their seats, ken langone, chairman of the board of trustees, and his wife elaine, let everyone in on a secret. Ken langone as of this very moment, the n. Y. U. School of medicine is now a tuitionfree medical school. Stahl joe babinski was sitting in the front row, without a clue that was coming. Babinski and they announce that they are supplying full tuition scholarships for every student. Stahl did you think you heard them right . Babinski i i took a picture of the slide on my phone, because i i didnt want them to remove it and take it away. laughs so i was like, im im documenting that this is happening. laughter stahl but did you get it right away . We were there, and there was a sense of, did i hear that right . laughs babinski i i still dont think i get it. Stahl sitting a few rows away, joes parents, a municipal employee and a retired cop, had a similar, did he just say what i think he said . Reaction. Dad oh, my god stahl this was the realtime reaction of another father. Dad oh, my god, oh rivera at first, i see students looking around at each other. Stahl did i hear what he said . Rivera yeah. There were there were gasps, there was some quiet, there was some screaming. And then, all of a sudden, the chants started getting louder and louder. And before you knew it, the the audience had erupted into cheers of joy. cheering stahl n. Y. U. s free tuition applies not just to firstyear med students, but to every current student, in every class. They do still have to pay their own room and board, but for these students, its a gift worth more than 200,000 each. Langone and these kids went nuts. One father yells out, i told you you picked the right place laughter stahl ken langone made his fortune as a cofounder of home depot. He and elaine donated 100 million toward the free tuition initiative, and he helped raise the additional 350 million needed to make it a reality. Langone well, thats my job here. Stahl to go out and ask other people for money . Langone oh, i go out, and i look at somebody nice like you, and i grab you by your ankles, and i shake you. Stahl the money comes out laughs langone and, when you promise me theres no more nickels, i turn you right side up. But seriously . I have two jobs here. Im a cheerleader, and im a fundraiser. Stahl tell us how this came about. Langone bob grossman, when he became dean, i sat him down. I said, all right, boss, what are we going to do . And he said to me, one of the things i would love to have happen is for, one day, for us to be tuitionfree. Stahl he said that right in the beginning . Langone 11 years ago. Stahl when he first came . Okay. Langone 11 years ago. I said, you know what, bob . Lets do it. Professor and heres the way it works. Stahl it took more than a decade, but n. Y. U. Now has the endowment to offer free tuition to every med student, in perpetuity. Langone when we announced it, a mother, a pediatrician, came up to me, 30 years out of medical school, and she told me she was still paying off her medical school debt. And she said, this morning, when i woke up and i knew i was coming here, she said, i was convinced i would be in debt when i died, to help my son become a doctor. These are great people. So, we just say, you know what . Lets do what we can to help make it easier for them. Stahl do you think this is going to make you a better doctor . Babinski i think without a doubt itll make me a better doctor. Stahl really . How does it affect that . Babinski for one, i wont be working while im in school. I can focus on learning the medicine and being good at it. Stahl and that pressure isnt on your shoulders. Babinski theres none. Langone i think about the mindset of a kid saying, somebody did something for me. Now, ive got to do something for somebody. Okay . Think of that. Stahl yeah. Langone thats a big thing. Babinski it is a lot. Stahl n. Y. U. s notuition model replaces what had been a patchwork system of scholarships and financial aid. Now, every med student is on full scholarship, with absolutely no strings attached. This model says anybody who comes to n. Y. U. Medical school will come tuition free, as opposed to just the kids who need the money. Emanuel right. I like the a model which i call forgivable loans. That you basically say to every student, were loaning you all of medical school. And if you go into primary care or one of these other specialties that needs doctors, or you go practice in a rural community, like in south dakota, or you go into an innercity community thats underserved, were going to forgive your loan. On the other hand, you decide you want to go into one of those lucrative specialties, ophthalmology, or dermatology, or orthopedics, youre going to have to pay it back with interest. And i think thats a more effective way of getting the goals society wants, than giving everyone tuition free. Stahl whatever the model, changing the face of the medical profession is a huge challenge. Consider this there are no more African American men in medical school today than there were 40 years ago. 40 years right now, more than half of all medical students come from the richest 20 of american families, only about 5 from the poorest 20 . This means that wealthy areas have lots of doctors, and lower income areas dont. I know of so many communities in in poor areas, that dont have a doctor at all. No doctor. Is there anything in this program that encourages people to go out there . Rivera if you are from a rural background, you do tend to go back to practice in a rural setting more often than people who are not from a rural background. If you are from an under represented minority group, similarly, you also tend to go back to inner city underserved areas. Stahl since the announcement, applications to n. Y. U. Have boomed, especially from minorities. Deleon i think just the idea that a lot of people who come from backgrounds like mine, low income, without parents who are able to afford medical school, i think that its a huge draw. And i think that its a needed draw for the Patient Population thats served by n. Y. U. Students. I think that theres a lot of folks at bellevue, where i work this is just anecdotal, but i would say at least 60 of the patients are latinos, and this is an Excellent Way to draw the right people to the right institution. Stahl hows your spanish . Deleon very good. laughs stahl excellent . Deleon excellent. Stahl so they can you can really communicate with them. Deleon yeah. speaking spanish stahl Elaine Deleon was in the final year of an accelerated threeyear med school program, one year less than the norm. But when we saw her on the day of the announcement. Deleon youre not going to believe the news that just came out. Stahl . Calling her dad to give him the news . You wouldnt know she was saving just one year of tuition. Deleon already, i felt like one of the luckiest medical students in the country because i am in the threeyear program. Im already decided on primary care, im already going into this Residency Program here. And then all of a sudden its, like, oh, and by the way, like, your last year is free. And its like, it was just this incredible feeling of freedom. Stahl so do you think all the other medical schools are going to at least try one model or another of free tuition . Emanuel absolutely. Stahl they all will . Emanuel and and i i mean, i think almost all of the medical schools had been driving to that before n. Y. U. Made its announcement. And i think they will redouble their efforts. This has been a issue that most deans of medical schools are passionate about. Stahl theyd better be, because otherwise, those deans at harvard and hopkins and stanford are likely to see the very best medical students attending n. Y. U. For free. Langone you have a right to push and say, why didnt you make kids who could afford to pay, pay . Because we really wanted to be blind, in terms of the kids coming here. And we want them to know that they owe us nothing. That, one day, if youre dealing with a patient who cant afford to have something done, you might say, its on me. Pass it on. Stahl just after this story aired in april, an anonymous donor reached out and offered to pay all of Elaine Deleons existing student debt, saying they want to encourage her and others to specialize in primary care where patients badly need it. Elaine graduated from n. Y. U. Med school in may, and has now begun her Residency Training in new york city. ticking rooh, really . s going on at schwab. Thank you clients . Well, investors business daily did just rank them 1 broker overall and 1 in customer service. And online equity trades are only 4. 95 . I mean, you cant have low costs and have awardwinning service. Thats impossible. Its like having your cake, and eating it too. Ask your broker if they offer awardwinning service, and low costs. How am i going to explain this . If you dont like their answer, ask again at schwab. Schwab. A modern approach to wealth management. Depend® fitflex underwear for all day fun. Features maximum absorbency, ultra soft fabric and new beautiful designs for your best comfort and protection guaranteed. Lifes better when youre in it. Be there with depend®. Help protect your pet, home, and yard. Ah, it ended to soon. With the advantage fleaction plan. Just look at him hes a wreck without me, ha. Owww. Fight the misery of infesting fleas. Hey allergy muddlers. Achoo . Do your sneezes turn heads . Try zyrtec. It starts working hard at hour one. And works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. Zyrtec muddle no more. ticking ticking cooper every once in a while, we come across a story of people trying to push the limits of what human beings can do. Athletes competing not just against each other, but against Mother Nature herself. When we first met a surfer named Garrett Mcnamara six years ago, he had just set a world record for riding the biggest wave anyone ever had. Surfers from around the world have been trying to break mcnamaras record ever since. As youre about to see, someone finally has. Each winter, big wave surfers bring their boards and their bravery to an unlikely spot where the waves can get as tall as buildings. As we initially reported last november, its not in hawaii or australia. Its off the coast of portugal, in an ancient town called nazaree, where Garrett Mcnamara first had the ride of his life. waves crashing ooh, boy cooper the giant waves appear off nazaree every winter, just as they have for thousands of years. Few surfers knew about this place, until 2011, when Garrett Mcnamara was towed into this 78foot wave by a jet ski. He had a camera mounted on his surfboard, and one on the shore, recording him as he got into place, let go of the tow rope, and began his recordsetting ride. Garrett mcnamara i didnt realize it was that big of a wave, until it came down from above, and just, boom, right on my shoulders. And it almost squashed me. I almost collapsed. Cooper its hard for people who have not ridden a 78foot wave to understand what it feels like, the power of that wave. waves crashing how do you describe it . Mcnamara a lot of us have snowboarded or skied. Just imagine going as fast as you go down a mountain, and then imagine hitting some ice, maybe some moguls. And then imagine an avalanche coming down after you. Then imagine not trying to run away from it, trying to stay as close as possible to it the whole time. And and have it ch chasing you, and now the mountains moving, and and not just the avalanche, but the whole mountain is moving. Thats what its like, riding these giant waves. Cooper it sounds terrifying. Mcnamara for the average person, could easily be hell. Cooper if you havent figured it out by now, Garrett Mcnamara is not your average person. He started focusing on big waves in the mid 90s, attracted by the challenge and the rush of adrenaline he got riding them. Before setting the world record, hed already made a name for himself with some incredible rides. And some epic wipeouts. crowd reactions mcnamara i broke ribs, three different times. Broke feet, hurt this knee, back, stitches from head to toe. Cooper how many times have you been stitched up . Mcnamara i dont know. At least a hundred, if not more. And and i ive stopped going to the doctor. I just use crazy glue now, so i just cooper you what . Mcnamara yeah, yeah. I crazy glue everything. If i can crazy glue it, its getting crazy glued. If you put it perfectly back together and put some crazy glue on it, done, and back in the water that day. Cooper mcnamara first surfed the waters off nazaree, portugal in 2010. When we first came here in 2012, there werent many surfers riding these monster waves. Today, thanks in large part to Garrett Mcnamara, the water is now crowded with them. And onshore, throngs of spectators gather around a 100yearold lighthouse, to watch the incredible rides, and dangerous falls. Mcnamara its like water world. Like, dog fight for waves now. Its really funny. Cooper people are competing for waves. Mcnamara yeah, competing, fighting. Yeah, full on. Cooper surfers want to challenge themselves here in nazaree. Mcnamara this is the proving ground, when it comes to a team. Much more about teamwork here. You need somebody with a jet ski to watch over you. And once it gets over 60 feet, everybodys challenging themselves and their skills here. Cooper its dangerous even for the jet skiers. Mcnamara oh, the its almost more dangerous because you got this big machine. All a sudden, if a wave lands on you and youre stuck with the machine. Cooper in november 2017, mcnamara was riding a jet ski, towing his friend, british surfer andrew cotton, into this massive wave in nazaree. It didnt go as planned. Mcnamara bleep this thing literally exploded like a bomb. And he flew into midair like a cannonball. He was a human cannonball. Cooper cotton was in the wrong spot on the wave, and had to jump off his board. He disappeared momentarily, before being thrown forward like a rag doll. He landed hard on the water and broke his back. Andrew cotton the shock went through my back. It. It was like hitting concrete. Cooper cotton was rescued and brought onto the beach. He spent months recovering, but is already back in nazaree surfing once again. Cotton as wipeouts go, it wasnt really that bad. Cooper dude, you broke your back. I mean cotton yeah, but it was it was an impact. And the thing is, is is the the amazing thing about nazaree is, you never know what youre going to get. Cooper thats what makes nazaree so exciting. The same day andrew cotton got hurt, a brazilian surfer named rodrigo koxa caught the ride of his life on this wave that some observers thought might have broken Garrett Mcnamaras record. Maya, you are officially amazing. Cooper and just a few months later, another brazilian surfer, maya gabeira set a new womens world record on a wave that measured 68 feet. Cooper who do you think will be the next surfer to set a world record here . Cotton theres a lot of capable people to set the next world record. Cooper we wanted to see these worldfamous waves up close. So, we rigged mcnamaras jet ski with three minicameras, and attached another to the end of a stick i could easily carry. We also placed three cameras with highpowered zoom lenses on the cliffs overlooking where the waves break, and hired another cameraman, jorge leal, to follow us. With eight cameras rolling and two jet skis, we took off from the harbor in nazaree. So this is the area you try to surf in . Mcnamara yeah. Cooper we hoped to see for ourselves just how powerful. Whoa . And dangerous the waves here are. Im good. Mcnamara come right on up, hold on tight. Cooper we had no idea what we were in for. Mcnamara woo hoo look at that Cooper Mcnamara considered these waves relatively tame. They were only 20 to 30 feet high. Mcnamara look right there, anderson rainbow, rainbow look at that yeah, holy moly thats amazing. Now its time to hold on. Cooper its not just the wind and the current that makes the waves here so massive its the existence of an underwater canyon. At its deepest point, the canyon is nearly three times the depth of the grand canyon. It starts about 100 miles off shore and runs nearly all the way onto shore. Mcnamara all this energy, and it funnels in like a v. So all this energy, it comes down the canyon, and as soon as it hits a shallow point, kaboom cooper getting hit with all that energy is, acrding to mcnamara, part of the joy of big wave surfing. On this wave in nazaree, he ditched his board to prevent it from hitting him. You can see mcnamara as a little speck on the lip of the wave. This is the view from the camera on his board. Mcnamara a lip lands on me. I get obliterated. And im under forever. And i was just loving every bit of it. It was amazing. Cooper the way you say, obliterated, its sort of blissful, and sort its a little weird. Mcnamara yeah, whoo cooper whats the enjoyment of getting obliterated, of getting wiped out . Mcnamara i think its youre just out theres out of control. Like, when youre riding a wave, you still in control somewhat. Youre at the mercy of the wave, but you can choose your path and your destiny. When youre underwater getting pounded, you are at the mercy of the ocean. Youre like a grain of sand in the washing machine on spin cycle, going all different directions. And cooper and that loss of control is. You feel alive. Mcnamara feel alive. Cooper but three years ago, mcnamaras desire to feel alive nearly cost him his life. It was in the Northern California surf spot known as mavericks when he attempted to catch this wave, which he thinks was 50 to 60 feet high. Mcnamara i was in the perfect spot, paddled, stood up, thought i had it. Cooper oh my god. Oooh. Mcnamara and right when i hit, i was going so fast, it just broke my shattered my head, nine pieces. Cooper the mcnamara humerus the humerus head shattered in nine pieces and broke the shaft off the head, where it lodged itself in my pec. It was cooper wait a minute. The bone lodged in your pec . Mcnamara was rescued by a rider on a jet ski, and loaded into an ambulance. When you went to see a doctor, what did they say . Mcnamara the doctor they said i may nev might never surf again. Cooper at home in hawaii, his recovery was slow and excruciating. Mcnamaras shoulder had to be surgically reconstructed with nine screws and a metal plate. He was bedridden for months. Mcnamara i wanted to die. Thats how bad the pain was. Cooper his wife nicole helped him through his rehabilitation, which took more than a year. Mcnamara is 52yearsold now. He and nicole live in portugal near the water during the winter with their children. He still feels the pain in his shoulder when he paddles, but hes back on the water, and says he is a different person than he was before the accident. Mcnamara you know, the main thing it did is, it took the monkey off my back. Cooper what do you mean . Mcnamara i used to have to ride every single swell everywhere in the world, if i had the ability to get there, or i was on suicide watch. Cooper you were always looking for the biggest wave. Mcnamara biggest, best, perfect. And now, the monkey jumped off. I can i can be sitting at home in hawaii and see the biggest swell of the year coming here and be so happy and just say no, im happy right here. Cooper it sounds like at 50, one of the biggest daredevils out there is growing up. Mcnamara i dont want to say im growing up, but i definitely feel content. Cooper that may be just as well. Remember that wave brazilian rodrigo koxa caught in november 2017 . After the World Surf League analyzed video and photographs the biggest wave award is rodrigo koxa. cheers and applause cooper they declared it was 80 feet tall, two feet taller than Garrett Mcnamaras recordsetting wave. Mcnamara says he couldnt be happier for koxa and for nazaree, which remains in the record books. He may have lost his world record, but that same month, he gained something much more important. A baby daughter. Her middle name is nazaree. ticking cbs sports hq is presented by progressive insurance. Im adam zuker in our new york studio. At the u. S. Open today, Roger Federer and Serena Williams both won their fourthround matches in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals. 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After christie made a deal with mickey and holly to save herself i would be willing to be a pawn. Here i am. Use me. It kept her in the house another