Thankfully it was a little baby one, it happens all the time, and it's no big deal. :)
I've been surfing since I was five years old and yesterday was the first time I've ever been stung by a stingray. They are everywhere in Huntington Beach. The lifeguards dealt with 78 stingray cases last Friday alone!
The surprising thing is, it got me through the booty I was wearing! Right in the middle of the ball of my left foot. I was standing out in the water, trying to shuffle my feet constantly (that's usually how you avoid them). I could see the little baby stingrays darting away from my feet. I think I got a little too excited helping my son surf and catch some more waves:
(photo credit: @corinnestokes)
That's me in the background celebrating as Devon stood up. You can read about his first surf session here.
I must have stepped right on a tail. I didn't let it cut my surf session short or take the smile off my face though. :)
(photo credit: @corinnestokes)
We also found a few live sand dollars which are pretty cool looking:
After I came in, my brother Tod flagged down a lifeguard passing by and they put some hot water in a special "stingray first aid" bag they have at the ready. For treatment, just soak your foot in really hot water which breaks down the proteins in the venom. After I got back to my brother's house, I soaked it some more while enjoying some drinks and the wonderful Southern California weather. The lifeguard said to put it in water as hot as you can stand.
Getting stung hurt quite a bit, and right after it happened I had to limp around slightly, walking mostly on the side of my foot. I'm really glad I had the booty on or it probably would have gone much deeper. I kept everything hot by occasionally pouring in some freshly heated water from the stove. It swelled up a bit, but there was no infection or additional concerns.
It feels much better today (January 2nd).
Speaking of January 2nd, today's my birthday! We had a relaxing time today hanging out back in Oxnard with Corinne's family and just got back from a really nice dinner with the family.
I hope you're having a great day and enjoying this birthday present of very high STEEM price :)
Let's hope it sticks around longer than my birthday.
Turns out the stingrays were so bad, they are reporting on it in the news. This local article mentioned 73 on the Friday I mentioned (maybe the lifeguard I talked to knew of 5 that didn't get reported).
@lukestokes so it was not a coincidence that they got you. They are spread all over some costs in California?
I was wondering is you read my message, that is just a few messages below this one.
Regards, @gold84
Glad you're ok. Better to get stung in the balls of the foot than the other balls , i always say. lol
On another note, stingrays are delicious when cooked in coconut milk and chilies.
I actually first read it as the other balls, huge relief when i saw foot
Hahah!
@lukestokes Happy Birthday! You were lucky this time, and good a life guard could aid you fast too. Evcen Stingrays don't attack if we don't step on them, they are poisonous animals and it hurts too much when that happens. Good everything is fine afterall. It was in your birthday when that happened, right?
Speaking about the 11 Chapters full steemit guide, today I posted Chapter 4 of 11: Understanding How to Keep our Steemit and Steem Cryptocurrency Account Safe - How to Use the 5 Different Passwords - This is part 4 of the 11 Chapters (Full Guide) to help new people make their way on the platform.
Here is the link to this new Chapter/post:
https://steemit.com/steem/@gold84/chapter-4-of-11-understanding-how-to-keep-our-steemit-and-steem-cryptocurrency-account-safe-how-to-use-the-5-different-passwords
Again, special thanks to you for inspiring me to continue doing this chapters, and for all your support!
Looking forward to hear from you with your additions, knowledge and experience in any of the Chapters!
Regards, @gold84
Keep up the great work.
Thanks for your support @lukestokes !
you are an ultimate winner you have conquered death
Better a stingray than a Portuguese man o' war!
@lukestokes Happy Birthday and heal UP well. Birthday and AllTime STEEM High, Maybe we can make that an annual Birthday Gift. Fun in Surf City I lived there for 10 years. Huntington Beach was Fun.................
Happy B-day Luke and I'm glad you're allgood! Gettin' hit by one is no joke especially the bigger one's. I used to do lots of surf fishing back in the day and I can't tell you how strange it feels to step on one as it skirts out from under you. I remember hooking into a large one and fighting it for a while before cutting the line as it just got to be pointless. It had to be a large one and felt like I was fighting and reeling in Poseidon's biggest ocean soaked towel of all time. After a half hour or so it felt suctioned to the bottom and was barely movable hence cutting the line. Get better brother and Happy New Year to you and yours!
Thank you. Feeling way better today. I'm glad I was able to get it into hot water quickly. Also very glad it was a small one. :)
Glad you’re ok!
may be i reasteam your post because i liked in your photo
Ouuuch man!! Other than the painful foot the surf looks totally gnarly & I hope you've enjoyed your birthday!
The waves were small, but we had fun anyway. :)
Aww! Happy birthday mentor
Happy Birthday!!
As a present, we've increased the price of steem. ;-)
Indeed!!!
Glad your ok. Can’t have you hurt for this Steem ride 😀
Thank God you are fine, hope you feel a lot better now, and say hello to the family and many more years to come
Steve was killed. Not by a stingray.
Now that is a fun fish story to tell. Before long that baby stingray might be 4, 5, or 6 foot wide
Thanks for sharing about fun times with family!
Happy birthday luke..nice story.. You share good content.. Nice sand dollars view.. Thanx for sharinh
Happy birthday! Yeah the weather down in San Diego has been perfect the last couple days. You picked a good time to come out. What a nice birthday present for you with Steem mooning. I think it will stick around. Steem is long overdue for some love in the crypto space.
I agree. Long overdue.
@lukestokes - Wow. Though you say it is no big deal, just the thought of getting stung makes me shudder. I hope it heals quickly. Wish you a speedy recovery. By the way - i did not know that the remedy was to simply soak it is really hot water. Good to know.
Your keeping the smile on, in spite of the sting, shows you really LOVE surfing.
Happy birthday. Stay young, lively and passionate as ever.
Regards,
@vm2904
Thank you. Yeah, it's really feeling a lot better today. I can still feel it walking around, but it's not all that painful, more just a slight annoyance. And yes, I do love surfing. :)
Yeah I agree looks like it must have hurt big time!
Good you are ok! It's a good feelings even at that sting but seeing Devon stood up is a great feelings of a good parenting attitude within that only you enjoy at that moment. Just make sure you pay attention to it needs.
I giggled when I read booty, I'm 9
Hahah. My kids giggled when they learned that word also.
I thought those things were harmless until I heard what happened to Steve. Be careful out there Bro!
The baby ones still hurt, but I don't think they are all that dangerous. The main concern might be an infection or something, but there's none of that in my case.
Good to hear that, but still can't help but worried mentor.
My mother was actually part of the medical response team that was dispatched out to Mr. Irwin. She said by the time they got there and saw the damage she knew there was no saving him.. I remember her calling me afterwards in disbelief, she'd never seen anything like it before.
Happy Birthday and I’m sorry about your incident!!! My son is enjoying surfing as well, he’s only 6 years old and I’m a proud mommy😊
Wow, very cool! And thank you for the birthday wishes.
Proud momma,😍
Glad you're ok, that shit is scary.
It is crazy how many stingrays are out there right now! Sorry to hear they got you as well 👎🏻
They are everywhere! My brother said they even had signs up recently warning people about them.
Have you ever tried in Indonesia?
No, but I hope to surf in many places around the world in the future. We plan to travel a lot.
Thank goodness you didnt try to squeeze the wound to try to get the venom out! Had a friend do that and made it much much worse!
Hope you recover quick!
Oh, interesting. Good to know.
wow you are amazing..i think you are a multi talented one
@lukestokes.... First thing first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY :)
Sorry to hear about the sting ray incident, it doesn't sound fun at all. On the brighter side, you were able to enjoy a lovely sunny day in paradise :) Wishing all the best and ....Steem on ;D
I love the water. Looks like you are having fun. Glad you were not hurt badly. Take care.
Happy birthday to you dear @lukestokes Live long and happy life wishes you a happy life
Happy that you are ok and congratulations on your son's accomplishment!
Wow. Amazing pictures
Nice post. I join you in thanking God that what stung you was a baby one, if not, it may have been a bad story. I follow and upvote you.
I see them sometimes while diving and get the fright of my life.. We dive crayfish in dirty water (2m visibility if you are lucky), I got my crayfish and started swimming the 250m back. While swimming I just saw shark skin like 1m away from me and my first thought was: This is it, I'm dead, I'm dead.. Only after screaming like a little girl and backpaddling a bit I saw it was a huge stingray, probably 1.5m in diameter. That has happened to me 3 times now, they get me evey time haha. Happy belated bday
Heh. Either way, it's scary stuff, especially in dirty water.
Oh man that’s brutal ! I’ve been surfing quite a while myself and fortunately I’ve never been stung . That must suckkk. I did most of my surfing in New York and then florida. Dude we gotta go surfing sometime !!
Glad to hear the sting wasn't worse. Happy Birthday man, enjoy the Cali weather its cold in Nashville!
Glad you're ok, i kinda liked your outlook on things ..life.
I have irrational fear of sting rays and jellyfish
Happy birthday to you and I hope the sting doesn't get any worse than it already is. My aunt was a huge fan of Steve Irwin and she was mighty sad when he passed. Happy New Year to you.
Yes same to you @greenrun!
Happy Birthday!!!! And well done for taking the sting with a smile :)
YES indeed!!!
OUCH! Looks awesome though!
well, first of all happy new year and a happy birthday (shows I read the complete article, lol)
Are you staying in California a bit longer?
the fact that you can go surfing is the best part though, It looks like a decent swell in the pictures though, not to big but nice for surfing
hope your foot heals fully
Thanks. It was quite small, but a couple days before that (the previous surfing post) was great. The weather has been wonderful and we've been enjoying it, but we're coming home soon (sadly).
Puh seems like you're 'Lucky Luke', it could have been very dangerous with the stingray..
Fortunately everything is all right and nothing happened..
It still can't really believe that out of all animals this one killed Steve Irwin.
Ouch! Better stick to safe Portuguese surfing next time Luke & happy birthday Steem-brother :)
Sounds like a future adventure! :)
Happy Birthday, thanks for sharing your adventure
Thank God you're OK
And also Happy Birthday
Good nice post you frenn.
Wooow nice post you.good
Woah! Watch out for your booty!