Author Topic: Zoner injured on foil sup.  (Read 7713 times)

Califoilia

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #15 on: June 16, 2020, 10:49:27 AM »
Whoa! Now I know what it'll be like when reading the obituaries...and I see my name printed in them. LOL!!

Just getting back to normal (in this case "normal" being breathing), logged in this morning, saw that a "Zoner injured on foil sup", and thought, "Wow, what a coincidence...I got injured also, I wonder what happened to him?". Quite the surprise when "him" turned out to be me.  :o :)

Thank you all for the concern, and well wishes. Fortunately things eventually worked out well, and I'm pretty much back to normal with only a slight bruise (the shape of an 18W stab), and three healing holes in my chest to show for it.

Just to fill in a couple of details; yes, @Phils is correct...it was a misplaced chest tube inserted into my lung in the ER, instead of into the pleural space surrounding it...that facilitated the need for a VATS (video-assisted thoracic surgery) to remove the tube from my lung, staple close the hole it made, and get the chest tube into the right place after all. So what would normally be a 24-48 hour stay, turned out be a 6-day, 5-night all expenses paid personal hospital holiday sans any family or friends due to the covid "no visitors" policy. :(

As @StandinDan mentioned, I couldn't have been more fortunate, and lucky to have the great bunch of guys I foil with there when the accident occurred...because as soon as I got back onto my towel (surfed three waves before I realized that I couldn't breathe), and only found one sort of POC, I knew I was f'd, and that a tension pneumothorax was more than likely where I was heading as it was getting increasingly more difficult to breathe with each breath.

The coordinated efforts of all to get me off the sand (one paramedic ambulance stuck in the sand later) headed to the hospital, gathering up all my crap (ebike, board, foil, umbrella, chair, cooler, beach mat, towels...I travel like a gypsy caravan), and get it all to my van a couple miles away and personally delivered to my driveway was nothing short of phenomenal...and made it so much easier on my wife and family, as just one less thing they had to worry about getting home.

So a great big "THANK YOU" to all of the great folks I'm forever in debate to who helped out locally, and to all of those I've come to know over the years through the ZONE (either in person or just virtually) for your kind words...and offers to buy all my pesky gear! Hahahaha...but the wife says I have one more "go and do something stupid" pass left. So for now, nothing new for the "Classifieds", but keep checking daily...ya never know when the dumbass bug will hit me again, and we'll then play "Let's Make A Deal!"  ;D


Thanks again to all,
Dave (Sano)
« Last Edit: June 16, 2020, 10:52:43 AM by SanoSlatchSup »
Me: 6'1"/185...(2) 5'1" Kings Foil/Wing Boards...7'10 Kings DW Board...9'6" Bob Pearson "Laird Noserider"...14' Lahui Kai "Manta"...8'0" WaveStorm if/when the proning urges still hit.

Hdip

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #16 on: June 17, 2020, 09:52:01 AM »
How did you get the rear stabilizer to hit your chest? Seems like a pretty hard thing to do.

StandinDan

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #17 on: June 17, 2020, 11:42:08 AM »
It was a freak accident in the shore break. He tried to shove his board through a pop up/backwash shorebreak and the board flew up the swell but flipped back at him, rolled right, and sent the tail end of the fuselage into his chest. The shore break can get pretty nasty at SanO down at Nukes. Even if you think you've timed it right it can jump up and bite you. My problem is usually getting out of the water. I've taken to throwing my paddle at the shore so I can use two hands to get my board out, fetching the paddle later up on the sand. I've dinged more boards just getting out of the water than anywhere else.

TallDude

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #18 on: June 17, 2020, 01:10:41 PM »
Saturday I surfed Doho. Caught a few on second reef, and a few inside but long lulls. I was tired and paddling in (And not paying attention), when I realized I was over rocks in less than a foot of water. I did a quick drop flat starfish move to save my board and took a rock to the ribs. It hurts to sneeze, cough, laugh, or lay on my left side. Not as bad as ones from the past. I even had some good wipe outs that morning and never got hurt. Then just getting out of the water, and whoops..
It's not overhead to me!
8'8" L-41 ST and a whole pile of boards I rarely use.

Califoilia

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #19 on: June 17, 2020, 01:41:31 PM »
How did you get the rear stabilizer to hit your chest? Seems like a pretty hard thing to do.
Heading out for a second sesh after a super fun 2 hour first one, I walked in the water to about knee-thigh deep when this not huge, but decent sized shorebreak stood up in front of me, and since I was already standing in a slight drop-off that I couldn't back-peddle out of fast enough, I tried shoving the inverted board and foil up, over, or through the now just cresting wave ....unfortunately I couldn't get it far enough over or through it, and the swell just picked it up and hurled it back at me, from what was now a little over "head high" as I looked up at it and unable to move as the backwash was pushing me towards it...prolly only about 2-3' since I was already about thigh deep by now.

Seeing dollar signs about to be slammed onto the beach, I made an instantaneous stupid decision of wealth over well-being, and thought I'd catch it before the board got dinged or even worse, foil and/or boxes got ripped off of it. Proud to say that I did catch it...by the stab into the right side of my chest, and was thrilled that all of the equipment escaped w/o any damage. I looked at my chest guessing for sure I was going to see blood and whatever sized gash the stab (18W) had given me...but wow, not even a scratch. Cool, let's go foil! :D

Thinking everyone and everything was no worse for the wear, I rubbed my pec a bit which was smarting pretty well, and then figuring everything was A-OK continued on my way out. Once out, I felt a little tightness in my chest, but just figured it was a muscle ache from the impact, so turned and caught my first wave...super fun. Paddled back out to catch two more waves, but each time the discomfort was increasing, until when I landed the third ride, I suddenly realized that I couldn't get a full breathe in, started gasping for air a bit, and thought paddling in just to get some rest and let things calm down a bit would be the prudent thing to do (first good decision of the session I had made thus far).

I got to shore, got my board loaded on my bike; then couldn't stand, and only found some slight comfort in breathing lying on my right side with a towel pressed against my chest. It was then that I knew I had jacked myself up, and feared that a tension pneumothorax was probably where I was headed (if not already there)....

The rest as the say "is history". :D

EDIT:
It was a freak accident in the shore break. He tried to shove his board through a pop up/backwash shorebreak and the board flew up the swell but flipped back at him, rolled right, and sent the tail end of the fuselage into his chest. The shore break can get pretty nasty at SanO down at Nukes. Even if you think you've timed it right it can jump up and bite you. My problem is usually getting out of the water. I've taken to throwing my paddle at the shore so I can use two hands to get my board out, fetching the paddle later up on the sand. I've dinged more boards just getting out of the water than anywhere else.
Good idea....I'm gonna start just laying the my board on the wet sand of the incoming waterline, and then let the next exiting water take the board out with it, and just hope like a mutha that it pulls it out far enough before the next incoming swell comes and washes it right back in on me. LOL!! ;D ;D
« Last Edit: June 17, 2020, 02:04:34 PM by SanoSlatchSup »
Me: 6'1"/185...(2) 5'1" Kings Foil/Wing Boards...7'10 Kings DW Board...9'6" Bob Pearson "Laird Noserider"...14' Lahui Kai "Manta"...8'0" WaveStorm if/when the proning urges still hit.

Califoilia

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #20 on: June 17, 2020, 02:02:27 PM »
Saturday I surfed Doho. Caught a few on second reef, and a few inside but long lulls. I was tired and paddling in (And not paying attention), when I realized I was over rocks in less than a foot of water. I did a quick drop flat starfish move to save my board and took a rock to the ribs. It hurts to sneeze, cough, laugh, or lay on my left side. Not as bad as ones from the past. I even had some good wipe outs that morning and never got hurt. Then just getting out of the water, and whoops..
I gotta say, if I was happy about one thing out of this whole episode...it was that I was fortunate enough to not have broken any ribs or torn any intercostals during it. Because yeah, it could have so much more painful that it really was, and the recovery thing would be so much longer.

And yep, I was telling some buddies the other day that...95% (or more) of my equipment and/or body damage happens when I'm entering or exiting the water. Can only remember once when I put a knee through a deck of a SUP (knee was fine, SUP, not so much), and another time when I was caught up and tumbled in a big old foam ball that somewhere in the mix a side bite hit my hip and ripped out the side bite...but again no real damage to bod (little scratch, little bruise the next day).

So I guess this latest shoreside calamity finally caught up to me with the damage to the body instead of board. Think I have to remember that boards are much more easily fixed than bodies, and GTFO of the way next time, and let whatever happens to equipment happen, and just hope for the best.  :o
Me: 6'1"/185...(2) 5'1" Kings Foil/Wing Boards...7'10 Kings DW Board...9'6" Bob Pearson "Laird Noserider"...14' Lahui Kai "Manta"...8'0" WaveStorm if/when the proning urges still hit.

Hdip

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #21 on: June 17, 2020, 02:41:48 PM »
Yikes, pretty crazy. Shorebreak is scary when trying to negotiate with a foil. I'm riding a prone 4'8" so it's a bit different I guess. I use the board upside down when I'm in less than knee deep water. Once I get deeper than that though I like to hold the board on it's side, foil away from me. You can jump through shorebreak while holding onto a prone board that way. I ride waves in that way too. I never understood the guys that go for the upside down board with the mast right in front of your forehead.

Glad it's all working out and you're on the mend.

Califoilia

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #22 on: June 17, 2020, 03:46:17 PM »
Yikes, pretty crazy. Shorebreak is scary when trying to negotiate with a foil. I'm riding a prone 4'8" so it's a bit different I guess. I use the board upside down when I'm in less than knee deep water. Once I get deeper than that though I like to hold the board on it's side, foil away from me. You can jump through shorebreak while holding onto a prone board that way. I ride waves in that way too. I never understood the guys that go for the upside down board with the mast right in front of your forehead.
Yeah, I like that idea, and I'm seeing some handles being installed on the bottom of some foil boards to make them easier to carry, but I'm now also thinking that it would also make holding/carrying it sideways in the shallows a lot easier, safer, and a lot more manageable that way.

I too have wondered about those guys prone paddling with the mast in front of their forehead, and only tried it a couple times with a 6'0" SUP foil board. Right away felt very uncomfortable doing that, so now I just walk the board in until I'm about belly to chest deep (32" mast), and then flip the board over, and stand up to paddle the rest of the way out.

Quote
Glad it's all working out and you're on the mend.
Thank you. Yes, doing well, with a doctor's appointment tmrw morning to get a better idea of when I can get back into the water where I belong.
Me: 6'1"/185...(2) 5'1" Kings Foil/Wing Boards...7'10 Kings DW Board...9'6" Bob Pearson "Laird Noserider"...14' Lahui Kai "Manta"...8'0" WaveStorm if/when the proning urges still hit.

PonoBill

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #23 on: June 17, 2020, 05:25:14 PM »
A handle on the bottom of the board is a great addition. It won't prevent every shorebreak incident, but it's a lot better than using the top handle with the mast in front of your thighs. Some folks enter the water with the mast behind them, but I've had that sweep me with backwash. Holding the board with the mast and foil away from you and a wing on the other side is much mo' bettah.

Glad you're feeling better.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

surfcowboy

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #24 on: June 17, 2020, 06:08:07 PM »
Man, Slatch, I'm glad you're alright.

Yes, I also now ditch my paddle unless there's someone around. I was walking in with my board nose to beach, upside down, holding the foil tail which seemed safe since it would get pulled away from me by shorebreak. But one broke under the board and bucked it and I while I was clear (this time) I could see how the tail could knock me in the chin. So now I carry out by handle with mast to beach side. Hdip, your prone method sounds solid too. I cannot wait to ditch the paddle for near shore foiling.

SUP and shorebreak is rough. But I do have to point out the hilarity that we all seem to report more injuries standing on land than floating or foiling. Not at all what all those scared surfers think would happen.

Also, just for Google, I want to report that still no kids have been hurt by being run over by SUPs or cut in half by foils as was the panic 3 years ago lol. This sport clearly affects the 40+ crowd. lol

Hdip

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PonoBill

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #26 on: June 20, 2020, 08:56:48 AM »
I never understood the guys that go for the upside down board with the mast right in front of your forehead.
[/quote]

If you have a substantial distance to travel to get to deep enough water, or there's a kelp or river grass problem there aren't a lot of alternatives. Walking over a reef is both very bad for the reef and hard on your feet if you live in one of the "pincushions and razor blades" areas like Hawaii. The trick is to find an angle and position on the bottom of the board that works well. I don't have the mast at my forehead, my head is alongside the mast with my shoulder right against the mast. If you are wearing a wetsuit or impact vest this is comfortable and reasonably safe. Keeping the shoulder tight against the mast keeps it from hitting my shoulder after it has picked up speed.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Califoilia

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #27 on: July 03, 2020, 03:50:42 PM »
Well crap. Since foiling is out until at least the 16th when I see the thoracic surgeon for hopefully the "OK" to get back into the action...figured a nice leisurely paddle around the harbor wouldn't/couldn't hurt anything...which was partly true. I didn't actually hurt anything seriously, but man am I out of shape, and the right lateral chest wall still's not as close to 100% yet as I thought it'd be.

Usually a lap around the DP harbor is no big deal unless it's super windy which it wasn't, but this time, about a quarter of the way around my serratus anterior, pectoralis minor muscles, and external intercostals on my right side started grabbing at me, and by a third of the way around I was turning back knowing that there was no way I was gonna be able to pull a whole lap.  :o :(

So much for me thinking a couple days ago that I was all set to jump back out in the lineup and get back to foiling. I can see now that imma gonna havta build things back up after them cutting through some muscle(s) and intercostals isn't as simple a procedure as I initially thought it was. But at least I've got a couple more weeks to get things back on track before seeing the doc, and really being able to tell him what's up with what. 

Paddle on! :D
« Last Edit: July 03, 2020, 03:52:50 PM by SanoSlatchSup »
Me: 6'1"/185...(2) 5'1" Kings Foil/Wing Boards...7'10 Kings DW Board...9'6" Bob Pearson "Laird Noserider"...14' Lahui Kai "Manta"...8'0" WaveStorm if/when the proning urges still hit.

surfcowboy

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Re: Zoner injured on foil sup.
« Reply #28 on: July 03, 2020, 03:55:31 PM »
Man, take it easy, but for sure get some exercise. It’ll come back, but yeah, you’re regrowing some stuff in there. Gonna take a minute.

Can’t wait to hear when you’re back in the surf.

 


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