Monday, December 28, 2009

PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES. WEAR A VEST EVERY TIME!!!

A couple days ago I was out riding with Scott Stewart. It was pretty cold so I was just messing around, having some fun and my BS 5 was not going so well. I was turning the last 180 really late and having some trouble with it. I figured I would just grab the next one to speed it up and problem solved... Right? Keep in mind before I tell this next part, I wear a vest 99% of the time I ride. It was cold and I was wearing a wet suit so I did not for some reason this set. No excuse and a very Bad Idea. So I cut in for the BS 5, grab the board and........... The next thing I realize is I am 180 upside down in the water looking up at my board and light at the top of the water. Not such a bad thing, just swim up and wait for the boat to get back, Right? Thats what I thought untill I try to swim up and my whole body is not working at all, its just fuzzy and tingling but not moving. Panic time. So I still had a whole breath and am looking at the top trying not to panic. I actually am floating up slowly so going through my head is " you still have a whole breath, your slowly going up, the boat has got to be back soon, dont panic and save your breath.". The closer I got to the top of the water the more my hands were starting to move. By the time I hit the top Scott was very close, I was yelling to get back but my hands were only slapping the top of the water. Scott pulled me on the platform and it took a good couple mins to get my movement back in the whole body. It had to be the scariest few mins of my life, first thinking I was going to drown, then wondering if I the lack of movement in my body was paralysis. I have to thank Scott for getting back so quick and his calmness when I was boarder line freaking out.

The whole time I was under water I was trying to keep it calm but so many thing were racing through my head. 15-20 seconds feel like hours. As bad as it was I was so very lucky that I was not winded or came out of my bindings. I would have been floating away from my board to the bottom not even being able go give a fight. The closest thing I could compare what my body felt like was, a head to toe dead arm with no movement what so ever.

WEAR A VEST

CHAD

9 comments:

D.Vanzura said...

Chad,
I am very grateful you survived this ordeal. Thank you for posting this. I hope the people who read it realize how lucky you were and how lucky we are not to be morning the loss of a good person.

Danny Vanzura

sk82destroy said...

a lot of riders don't take vests seriously (i guess they don't look as cool as a tie dyed t shirt or tattoos). thanks for posting this. im glad you were calm enough to make it out unscathed... i would have freaked.

Michael Hanson said...

dude same thing happened to me on a pete....sooo scary

Unknown said...

Glad you came out unscathed... Vests are a requirement for everyone who plans to get behind my boat. My Vorn barely floats me and after taking a hard fall and knocking the wind out me I went out and got a CGA vest the next day. Any chance you can talk to the guys into having more CGA Ronix vests?

Gabi Ismailciuc said...

Thank God you're ok, Chad! While reading your story I've remembered how the life vest saved me and since then I'm wearing it no matter what. Your story was really scarry, I hope you'll be fine and have a great 2010 season! Happy New Year!

Kyle said...

Glad you're alright, bro. Thanks for the reminder.. gotta wear that vest! Still loving your site.. keep it up!

Adam Holdsworth said...

Glad to hear you're alright. Same thing happened to me a few years ago while doing a pete rose, luckily with a vest. Caught my back edge at the lip of the 2nd wake and slammed. Blacked out for a split second, then couldn't move anything for only 3 seconds or so. Couldn't breathe right for a few hours but was glad I was wearing a vest and continue to wear one every set no matter what.

Anonymous said...

glad your alright chad. riders, brands and magazines need to crack the whip.

already seen one of my favorite riders die..... hate to lose a second.

Brad Smeele said...

Thats g-narly chowder.. I have actually had the exact same thing happen.. Although I was wearing a vest (not coast guard approved) I went for a switch roll to blind on the cable in England, caught the heaviest back edge and next thing I woke up under water looking up at the surface, my whole body was numb and had that tingling sensation through my body.. I also had a crazy ringing in my head and a sharp pain in my neck, I thought I had broken my neck, but luckily I floated to the top and started to be able to move a little.. Scary feeling!!
Had a major concussion and some compressed discs in my neck as a result..
Glad to still have you with us Chad.