Pros 04/22/2008
Pro Surfers Are Getting Hurt and Sick
Don’t know what’s going on lately, but there’s been a bunch of scary injury/sicknesses in the surfing world this last week.
DAMO HOBGOOD – Went over the falls at Teahupoo and broke things. Here’s what he said about it on his WPS blog:
“Don’t really know exactly what I was thinking except probably should have done anything but what I did; hesitated on this wave, thought I could get out of it, got sucked over the falls, went straight into reef, knew I hit hard and knew that something had happened.
Hit my head pretty hard so was just trying to stay with it until I got out of the impact zone. Went to hospital to make sure everything was okay, and it was, besides some broken bones.
I took the next flight out and went and saw Dr. Kramer who said I fractured three parts of my scapula but I wouldn’t need surgery which I was really happy with.“
GABE KLING – Got pneumonia in W.A. and had to spend about 6 nights in the hospital. He had severe allergic reactions to the medicine they gave him and broke out in rash and swelled up. Had a 103 degree fever. I guess the Dr. said if it comes back it could kill him. They recommend that he rests for a month or so to get back 100% strength.
He is skipping the 6* in Durban and possibly 6* in Scotland.
TRAVIS POTTER – HB surfer and longtime Indonesian visitor Travis Potter contracted a potentially deadly strain of cerebral malaria while traveling through the Southeast Asian island chain last week.
HB surfer and longtime Indonesian visitor Travis Potter contracted a potentially deadly strain of cerebral malaria while traveling through the Southeast Asian island chain last week.
The Seal Beach goofyfoot spent a hard month searching for undiscovered waves in Papua New Guinea with a half dozen other ferals, filming for an upcoming surf movie called Isolated.
He returned to Jakarta last Tuesday, April 8th to regroup and prepare for another two-week Outer Island camping trip when he was overtaken by fever and checked himself into the hospital.
“I had dinner with Travis on Tuesday night (the 8th) right before I flew home and he was fine,” remembers Filmer Steve Volz, who was with Travis for the month-long hell-trip. “But he called me the next night with a huge fever, saying he had gotten malaria and was in the hospital, and that if I started getting a fever I should get checked out.”
Potter spent the following five days in a Jarkarta hospital, occasionally texting friends and family to them know he was OK. According to some reports, Travis’ strain of malaria has a 20% mortality rate, which has people at home concerned; his Javanese wife Nino was in California when it was first discovered, but quickly flew back to Indonesia and she’s with him now.
“He sounded better last time we talked to him a couple days ago,” explained his father Dave on Friday afternoon. “But the treatment he went through was awful. He lost all kinds of weight.”
Weight wasn’t the only thing Travis lost; the treatment was very expensive, and he’s looking to make it to Bali to see a specialist. While he does have medical insurance, the deductibles are high, and he’s going to need time to recover, so his HB friends are planning a fundraiser in Huntington this weekend. Donations are also being accepted (info below).
VIA PAYPAL:
spiritwindranch@msn.com
VIA SNAIL MAIL:
Travis Potter Malaria Relief Fund
59512 Hop Patch Spring Road
Mountain Center CA 92561
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