There was no surfing or bike riding yesterday evening. I got the call in the late afternoon from Junior. She got the results of her blood work back, and they said her iron levels were at 7.2. Now, if you know anything about this, you might know why in the heck they would say the following thing to her that caused her voice to sound the way it did.
"Get to the emergency room immediately. You may need a blood transfusion. Your heart could stop at any moment."
I raced to meet her and Matt at the hospital, and Matt and I were sure they had her results mixed up with someone else's. After all, she has been surfing, riding her bike, and playing tennis. She kept saying she felt fine. But, the new blood work proved it was true. 7.3... and into the hospital she went for a blood transfusion.
This morning they let her go home. She seems to be fine, except for the fact that they told her not to do anything physically demanding. Poor Junior. Just imagine, though, the things she will do when she gets the iron back in her blood!
By dawn, I was on the phone with Junior, and she sounded great! She had her transfusion, and was on the mend. More to come...
Now to today's waves! The best swell of the summer began pouring in sometime overnight. I was at the pier at dawn to see... waves, real waves! It looked about 3-4 feet and glassy. The lineup was a bit crowded, and when I got out there I learned that it was all the firemen from the fire station by the pier. They were having a blast, hooting for each other, just stoked on the sizable waves. One of them smiled at me, "The lineup will be empty in about ten minutes. We all have to go to work!"
Sad for them, but JACKPOT for me! The waves were the biggest they have been all summer. Big, glassy walls to carve and smack, just a playground! There was this one right I saw, right off the tower, and I just sat on it for the next three or four hours. The firemen left on cue, and the spoils were mine!
One guy on a yellow board came paddling up, saying that the last wave I had was great! We started talking, and learned that we knew each other, sort of. His name was Jim, and he said my name, said he knew me from the shop, and the college, where his ex-wife worked. He said he remembered seeing a picture of me in Eastern Surf Magazine on a huge wave, back in 1985. We had so much fun, sharing waves, and talking about Nicaragua where he had just been. Then Karen paddled out! Then my man, Andy! Joy! We had so much fun, the waves were coming in and jacking up almost perfectly, the best I have seen the pier in many months. Andy got a smoking right, and we both watched Karen get one that peeled and peeled all the way in. She had the biggest smile.
I was so glad the bike ride to Gainesville was not today. My biking pals would have never let me live it down. This addiction is annoying for those outside the realm. But, today I could not miss THIS. The wind groomed the waves into these gorgeous, rolling, pitching bowls. I saw so many that went unridden, just tubing away. If you can get tubed here, it is a good day. I got several, and you hardly even had to try. I had brought my fish, thinking it could not be all that big, but it worked perfectly on these walls, flying across the faces. I could not get over how much fun it was out there today. I had to make myself go in, thinking about junior in the hospital, and was relieved when I called her and heard her voice again, safe and sound.
Now it's back for more with my buddy, Joe...
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