What happened
November 2nd, 2008
Saturday (November 1st, El Dia de las Muertos aka The Day of the Dead) I was riding the top of a wave bigger & taller than I am, and grabbed ahold of the edge for another ride like I’ve had all summer. Partway down, the wave dissolved beneath me so there was only sand below. My feet were up in the air so I landed directly on my head on the sand. My momentum, the weight of my body, and the following water combined to push me down pretty well. As a result, I broke two bones in my neck and one in my upper back.
Ouch!
Dia de los Muertos - surfin skeleton
I got myself out of the water and the few blocks to the emergency room where they made extensive tests – xrays, CAT scan, MRI…
There’s no nerve damage, no loss of motor control, no pinched nerves, no ligament or muscular damage, nothing much else found. Also, even though they asked again, I never felt any tingling, numbness. There’s been no swelling. Many of them told me I got off easy. I’m living in gratitude!
I have a headache and my upper back and neck hurts pretty consistently. They’ve prescribed acetaminophen and some narcotic. I’m going to try to stay off of those.
I’m to get more tests from a neurological specialist near the end of December.
If you’re curious about the bodyboarding I’ve been doing, here’s a little I wrote about it. http://viewpacific.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/gratitude-for-teachers/
Where it hurts
November 2nd, 2008
From what they’ve told me so far, I’ve broken two bones in my neck and one in my upper spine. The fractures in the neck are in the ones called C6 and C7. The compression fracture is in T3. I found this little diagram which looks like the one the emergency doctor drew for me. Looking at this image and remembering what he said, it appears that the fractures on the Transverse Process, one of the little outer rings on two vertebrae.
T3 is one of the Thoracic vertebrae and located near the top of the spine below the neck.
- Thoraic Spine
I’m able to sleep on my back. It’s easier to stand than to sit.
In the few hours after it happened, it was getting harder to breathe. I can breathe pretty well, now, although not as deeply as I usually breathe or can breathe.
My love is with you Dan.
I pray that your body heals with grace and promptly no more pain.
Keep in touch.
By: Javier on November 7, 2008
at 5:19 pm
Thanks Javier!
Sort of like the last straw the broke the camel’s back, in this case, your extra prayer helped mine!
Each day, I’ve been feeling more and more supported and my body’s been feeling better. Today, I can hold my head tall with very little pain. Amazing!
I’ve had a close call and it’s brought me to more gratitude. I can read all the nice sayings about how precious life is, but this has been a serious reminder.
Thank you!
Dan
By: viewpacific on November 7, 2008
at 5:42 pm