04.01.05

My meeting with a stingray

This morning I met a stingray. I stepped on him and he hurt me. It hurt really bad.

Here's what a helpful website had to say about our interaction.

Stingrays have a barbed spine on their long tails that can cause painful and dangerous stings. Stingrays can thrash their tails side to side and up and down, causing glancing blows as well as actual stings. Because the stinging spine has jagged edges, the wounds can be ragged, deep and bleed extensively. A stingray does not attack but will sting if surprised or provoked. Once stung, the pain is intense. There may also be nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing and shock. Treatment for a stingray sting is to immediately immerse the affected area in water as hot as the victim can tolerate without causing burns. The wounded area must be kept in hot water for 30-60 minutes.

I wish I would have read this before I met the stingray because I sat in exquisite pain with my foot under really cold water. Once Nicole actually told me to make the water hot, it didn't hurt at all.

Once I got into work, I leaned from the resident surf pro that you're supposed to pee on the wound right away and then rub it down with meat tenderizer. Next time I'll be ready.

Posted by Owen at April 1, 2005 6:38 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Ouch, man!! That stinks beyond measure. As Dad would say, "Did you sting him back??"

Posted by: Cate at April 1, 2005 9:45 PM

I've heard of natural remedies before, but nothing quite like that. You'd think that pouring herbal tea on the wound -- with echinachea, of course -- would do the trick, since you're never too far from herbal tea in California.

Hey, friend. How goes it? Glad to see your blog is back. Will make many of my days.

Just returned from a week in S.F. Yup, my first time back since I left in '96. Was pretty cool.

Sorry I didn't write a lengthy response to your last email, but I greatly appreciated hearing back from you. How is Nicole feeling/doing? Hope all is well on that end.

Final thought: no matter what coast you choose, you see to be a little injury-prone? Have you considered moving back to a state without such sharp edges?

Just a thought.

Take care, friend.

Posted by: Shifty Pete at April 3, 2005 7:44 PM

I've heard of natural remedies before, but nothing quite like that. You'd think that pouring herbal tea on the wound -- with echinachea, of course, would suffice, since you're never too far from herbal tea in California.

Hey, man. So glad to see that your blog is back. Will definitely make many of my days brighter.

Just got back from a week in S.F. with Nancy and two of my kids. Was my first time back since '96 and really enjoyed it.

Sorry I didn't respond to your earlier email, but really appreciated your getting back to me.

How in Nicole doing/feeling? Hope all continues to go well on that end.

That's it for now. Look forward to following your further adventures. And the next time you have an encounter with a sting ray, make sure it's in a classic car showroom.

Ciao for niao.

Shifty Pete

Posted by: Shifty Pete at April 3, 2005 7:52 PM

One of my kids says that you should urinate on a stingray sting. By the way, he wants you to get him on "Pimp My Ride" - he has a '67 Mini Cooper S.

Posted by: roland at April 4, 2005 12:37 PM

Owwee. I'm just glad Aaron has never encountered such devilry while surfing. (I assume you were engaged in that activity since hearing of your acquirement of a board...stick....whatever it's called in the proper lingo.)

Anyways...congrats to you guys and 'hey' to Nicole. Hope she's feeling alright these days!

Ya'll take care.

Posted by: Beth at April 6, 2005 11:59 AM