I am a survivor of a traumatic accident.
In 2006, while surfing on the West coast of Puerto Rico, I was hit in the head by another surfer. I was in the water treading on a reef break, having just caught what – as a relatively new surfer – was a gnarly wave. She was mid-ride, and likely didn’t see me. She hit me square in the forehead with her board.
Newton's second law of motion is often stated as F=ma. In this case, consider the mass of a long board with adult rider; and the acceleration of a wave propelling the board. Only then can you can gather the nature of the force with which I was hit.
What followed in the short-term was an airlift from the West coast to the island’s only trauma unit in San Juan where I underwent emergency surgery to repair a massive dura tear and to patch what would later be diagnosed as a complete blow-out fracture of my left eye orbit. What followed in the medium-term was three years of emergency hospitalizations, diagnoses, major and numerous reconstructive surgeries and rehab to address other elements of my injury. And what followed in the long-term has been learning to live with my new normal. On the one hand, this new normal includes: double vision, fatigue, mild TBI, nerve pain and disappointing career changes; on the other hand, it includes: a slower-paced life, marriage and the birth of my two sons.
There are many more details, and many more stories that have emerged from this experience. At each stage of my journey, I have learned lessons and gained life perspective. While this is cliché, it is also true. What I didn’t expect, however, was that my surfing accident would provide me with the training for the journey that we are now all sharing: weathering, surviving and maybe even flourishing amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
I have started this blog to document elements of my journey both related to my accident and to this new Covid-19 chapter. Life is a seamless web, and in my case, it means that it is impossible to untangle these two threads. I encourage comments: I have some lessons to impart, and others to glean and I hope to do all of that and more on these pages.
In 2006, while surfing on the West coast of Puerto Rico, I was hit in the head by another surfer. I was in the water treading on a reef break, having just caught what – as a relatively new surfer – was a gnarly wave. She was mid-ride, and likely didn’t see me. She hit me square in the forehead with her board.
Newton's second law of motion is often stated as F=ma. In this case, consider the mass of a long board with adult rider; and the acceleration of a wave propelling the board. Only then can you can gather the nature of the force with which I was hit.
What followed in the short-term was an airlift from the West coast to the island’s only trauma unit in San Juan where I underwent emergency surgery to repair a massive dura tear and to patch what would later be diagnosed as a complete blow-out fracture of my left eye orbit. What followed in the medium-term was three years of emergency hospitalizations, diagnoses, major and numerous reconstructive surgeries and rehab to address other elements of my injury. And what followed in the long-term has been learning to live with my new normal. On the one hand, this new normal includes: double vision, fatigue, mild TBI, nerve pain and disappointing career changes; on the other hand, it includes: a slower-paced life, marriage and the birth of my two sons.
There are many more details, and many more stories that have emerged from this experience. At each stage of my journey, I have learned lessons and gained life perspective. While this is cliché, it is also true. What I didn’t expect, however, was that my surfing accident would provide me with the training for the journey that we are now all sharing: weathering, surviving and maybe even flourishing amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
I have started this blog to document elements of my journey both related to my accident and to this new Covid-19 chapter. Life is a seamless web, and in my case, it means that it is impossible to untangle these two threads. I encourage comments: I have some lessons to impart, and others to glean and I hope to do all of that and more on these pages.
If still alive, first survive, then thrive!
ReplyDeleteAll my respect!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I'm recovering from a brain injury as well and i'm looking forward to reading more.
ReplyDelete