My Worst Surfing Injury - A True Story

"Turn your wounds into wisdom."
- Oprah Winfrey -

This happened about fifteen years ago. I'm writing about it on Steemit for the first time anywhere.

It's an absolutely gorgeous day.

I'm spending some time at my home break, my favorite surf spot in Carlsbad.

I'm south of the power plant, the cove with the long flight of concrete stairs. The place where the houses end and the bare cliffs begin. That place where everybody knows my name.

It's a gorgeous day.
Image courtesy of woodrow walden and http://unsplash.com

Big smiles are in order.

Although there are plenty of surfers out, the break doesn't feel too crowded. This swell is delivering waves from a few different angles. The reefs and sandbars are distributing lovely A-frames and beautifully peeling rights and lefts all up and down the shoreline.

The break doesn't feel too crowded.
Image courtesy of Austin Neill and http://unsplash.com

I'm riding my tri-fin, banana-shaped "fun board."

It's a thick and slightly stubby thruster, another blessing from my co-worker Walter.

I don't know what I ever did to deserve a friend like Walter, but he's the one who gave me my first surfboard, a 6'8" home-made, single-fin egg. And, though he didn't give me this board, he may as well have... Walter spotted it at a yard-sale, decided that it was time I had a "new" one, and got it for me at the exorbitant price of ten bucks.

A tri-fin banana "fun board."
Image courtesy of H. Hach and http://pixabay.com

When I got it,

the banana had one of those nasty, sharp points on it - you know, a dagger that looks as if it could penetrate oak. I've never cared for sharp points on surfboards, and so I rounded the point with a saw, and fiberglassed it over to make it less threatening.

It used to have one of those nasty points.
Image courtesy of Amanda Napitu and http://pixabay.com

Everyone is in a great mood.

We're all slapping high fives, grinning from ear to ear, and chatting happily between delightful rides. I see dozens of people I know. Then again, I know pretty much everyone who surfs this break, and everyone knows me. After all, I'm that crazy bearded guy who surfs in trunks all year long.

I pick a line and cruise along the crest.
Image courtesy of Cameron Kirby and http://unsplash.com

I'm hovering just south of the Terramar point.

I've had a few good rides, and really enjoyed chatting with the other guys and gals that are out today.

Looking over my shoulder, I see a wave rising with no one else nearby. It's definitely my ticket to a great ride. Sure enough, I'm in the sweet spot. I take off, get to my feet, and crank in a bottom turn to the right.

I enjoy a delightful ride, swooping up and down the face, then picking a line and cruising along the crest. The wave carries me all the way into the cove, where I dismount by falling backwards into the foam.

I have no idea what is about to happen.

I'm in the shallows, perhaps chest deep. I don't realize that my banana board is aimed straight at my head.

I dismount by falling backwards.
Image courtesy of shane becker and http://unsplash.com

As I rise to my feet,

the short leash yanks on the board and drives it, nose first, into my face.

After a perfect wave ride,

the shock and the pain are startling. At first, I don't realize how badly I've been hurt. Reaching up and feeling the wound, my fingers are now covered in blood. Even more interesting, when I breathe, I can hear and feel bubbles exiting out through the wound.

What a bummer!

This means I'm going to have to interrupt one of the nicest surf days in recent memory!

I head up to my Surfmobile, drawing a few curious looks as I climb the stairs. I guess my face is kind of a mess.

The side mirror shows all.
Image courtesy of Kalle K and http://unsplash.com

Looking in the side mirror,

I get a clear idea of how bad it is.

Even though the nose of my board is blunt, the impact split my face for an inch along the "smile crease" above my lip to the left side of my nose. Air from my sinus cavity forms bubbles in the blood that is still seeping out of the split.

I guess my sinus bones have been slightly crushed; my left upper jaw is numb, sort of like when the dentist injects it with novocaine.

Now I'm really disappointed!

It's become clear that there's no way I'll be getting back in the water today. Why couldn't this have happened on a poor surf day?

What about the Emergency Room?
Image courtesy of Steve Buissinne and http://pixabay.com

After washing the wound,

I find a band-aid to hold the edges together temporarily. Reluctantly, I clean up and stow my banana board, climb into my Surfmobile, and head for home.

What's that you say?

What about the Emergency Room? Doctors? X-Rays? Stitches?

Truth is, I don't have much use for doctors. I might go see one in a real emergency. If I'm ever unconscious, I suppose it's possible that I could wake up and find that some do-gooder had taken me to a doctor. But why would I do such a thing voluntarily?

When I get home,

I wash the wound carefully with colloidal silver, and start dosing myself on it - eight to sixteen ounces a day for a week or two, just to be sure that things don't get infected. I use some small band-aids as "butterfly stitches" to keep the edges of the wound together.

We don' need no stinkin' plastic surgeons...

If you never heard this story, you'd never know I was injured. The scar is nestled perfectly in my "smile crease."

Seriously, I'm very grateful that my injury was not worse. God kindly spared me from needing more serious attention. And, as far as I can tell, after a number of years of numbness, the nerves have mostly grown back!

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Visit my Library Surfing Shelf for more great surf stories.

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~FIN~

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Thanks for your time and attention.
You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.

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