Speed and Risk
World Surfari's have a new gig going with their Stealth Travel Club. This Session was gonna be a plug for it except it didn't quite turn out that way.
Rather than spruik his latest venture, David Scard, who is looking after Stealth, asked me to run the following email. Scardy is just back from what he calls the biggest and best G-Land he's seen in many years. Check the photos for proof. But when Speedies is big, there's injuries. Read on...(oh, and if you're going to Indo make sure you have travel insurance, seriously)
*****
I just got to my oldies place in Puerto Rico. It was a mission but I am OK, thanks to all of you guys.
Dr Wendy really saved my arse! Her attention was priceless. Once I got to SOS Bali , I had x-rays done and I was scared shitless once I saw them. The good news was that Wendy had aligned the leg properly, and there was no need for another cast. BUT the dirty truth was that I had a triple fracture of the distal tibia just up from the ankle, AND I had also fractured the proximal fibula. Thats why my foot felt dangling. It was completely separated from my knee! The only thing holding my leg together was Wendy's cast. Anyways, then I needed to make the hard decision of what to do next. Dr.Yuda at SOS was pushing me to do the $6000 surgery at the Kasih Ibu Hospital in Denpasar. I almost did it. But then after talking to friends and family, they showed me the way, and I decided to go from SOS to the airport. 48 hrs and MANY painkillers later I was in my orthopaedic surgeons office. But, sure enough, my bags did not make it off the last flight and the x-rays were inside the checked bags. I got injured on Tuesday the 13th and made it the emergency room in San Juan on Thursday. There I spent the night, surgery on Friday and today, Saturday, I was discharged of the hospital and back to my parents place where I lay now recovering from a SUCCESSFUL surgery. One long bar was hammered through the inside of my tibia and two nails went into the lower part (distal) part of the leg. One more nail is located at the top of the tibia which goes right through the fibula as well. All in all was I f#cking lucky. Today I had my first proper bath since G-Land and dusted off the last remains of the Indian Ocean. Thanks again for all your help and please forward this email to Wendy (G-Land's medic). I never received their email with the photos. So please also dont forget to send me her email. By the way, how was the swell after I left?? Ismael
*****
Scardy would like to thank Dr Phillip Chapman and all the crew at Surfing Doctors. All photos were taken by Willy at Joyo's Surf Camp.