I was just out cruzing and actually was just doing a surface 180 something ive always done always been fine just very simple.. caught my edge and face planted and my board did a "scorpion" and the edge of my board slammed the right side of my head.. I lost all movement on the left side of my body ( since right side of your brain controls left side of body and vice versa ) and my left eye went black I thought this was the last day of my boarding life ( Paralyzed ) then like 15 seconds later it all came back ... VERY releaved but once I noticed that went away I looked at the water around me and realized it look like a shark just killed someone. There was blood EVERYWHERE i put my hand on my head and then looked it .. I then started to freak out because I knew my head was MESSED UP the boat finally got back to me at that point all of them laughing cause of my face plant and then they realized what was happening they pulled me out of the water and my dad looked at my head and there were was my head split open with " two flaps of skin on each side of the cut " I asked if it was bad , the loving dad said no no its not that bad your ok and we rushed to the hospital which luckily was right next door... My mom finally made it there and said let me look at it ( had a towell pressed against it ) and right when I took it off she said "Holy Crap" I knew once she said that it was bad and my dad was trying to just make me feel better so they took me back and the nurse did such a good job cleaning it luckily they didnt have to remove any of my hair ( i was 12 I didnt want to look goofy at school hahahahah the was my worry at the time ) and I had 8 staples across my head all the way from my temple to the base of the back of my neck hairline . Still have a knarly scar ! but once we finished I asked my dad once again how bad was it .. He said Chase we could see your skull and the nurse said I was very lucky not having any head / brain damage. Thats my worst crash story
Last edited by Chaserwaser; 04-09-2010 at 12:25 PM.
I came out of a simple back roll 6 years ago and somehow managed to tear my MCL an ACL. Now I am much more paranoid and cautious on the water because I do not want to ruin a full season of riding.
A girl I was dating in college took a good face plant and ended up with a thin cut through her cheek. At the hospital the Doc had her gurgle some water and it was dripping down her cheek because the cut went all the way through.
A good friend has video of his tib/fib double compound. The crash doesn't look bad, then it cuts to people disassembling his bindings and his bone marrow leaking all over the back of the boat.
I was doing just a regular ole hs wake jump, not sure how I managed to crash but when I hit the water my shoulder dislocated (which is nothing new). It really sucks to be strapped in a board and trying to put your shoulder back in socket. Been knocked out a few times as well.
i was riding with some friends last summer when i tried a simple w2w. upon landing, my board & i spontaneously combusted. i suffered 2cnd degree burns, but still managed to ride 1 more set. i wish my crew would've caught it on video.
My last knee injury was probably my worst. Doing a nuclear glide off the mccormicks kicker and landed FLAT. Knew I did some damage right when it happened but i didn't realize how bad it was. The doc said that if he were to fix my meniscus he would have take out 90% of it and leave me bone on bone. The other option is a total knee replacement and i am 24 years old. It was really painful for about a month but now it feels great, but when i goto mccormicks i cant do the one thing that i love in wakeboarding and that is big glides, spins and off axis 180s with different grabs. It really has taken the fun out of riding for me and made me lose a lot of my stoke. I want my stoke back!! I go out, buy an hour or two hour pass, take a few runs, get in a few slider hits and i just quit and watch other people ride. I guess Im just going to start having to try and get really stoked on rails or something.
my friend was doing a crow I think..... somehow his arm got through the handle, he landed, fell, and the slack caught up and snapped the two bones in his forearm and a ****load of the blood vessels
the boat almost stopped from the force and it bend the metal inside the handle into a 180* "U" shape
I caught an edge when i was first trying surface 180s the summer before last and it hurt a decent amount but i got up and started riding again after laughing for a minute. Next think i know im riding but dont remember even coming to the lake. Weirdest feeling ive had in a long time. It was like i just forgot half the day and didnt know where i was for a while, but i remembered falling and feeling stupid cause i was trying to show off my cheesy 180 with another friend who just started riding as well
I have many crashes where I'm sore the next day but the crash(es) that left me feeling the worst were when I was just messing around on a wakeskate and trying kickflips w2w. I wasn't even getting close and I'd just land feet first in the water, this must have went on 5 attempts. None of the bails hurt initially but five minutes after my set I notice that everything is super bright (with shades on) and I'm starting to feel like I need to throw up. I contained myself on the boat but was hit with a serious migraine as soon as I left the landing.
This is like a car accident, I clicked knowing there may be something I may not want to see but I could not turn my head. Seems like we have just not located the body thrown from the wreckage yet.
I guess I can chime in on this thread. In 2005 I took a hard face plant from a simple W2W jump. When I came to a stop in the water, I realized that i could not feel or move either of my arms. After a few minutes the feeling began to come back, but it felt like pins & needles on both sides. I got an MRI the next day, but all I got was a phone call from the ER staff that said, "you hurt your neck, don't wakeboard any more". All my friends said that they were just being over-cautious, and that if I was really worried, I should switch to wakeskating (the falls aren't quite as violent).
So I just wakeskated from then on until late '07 when my arms began to tingle again. After more imaging by a different doc, I was told that I have Cervical Spinal Stenosis, which means the openings in my vertebrae are smaller than they're supposed to be, and my spinal cord was banging against solid bone every time I took a hard fall. I had three vertebrae fused in late '07 (C3-4 & C4-5), and another surgery for a related pinched nerve at C5-6 in late '09. I will probably need to get C5-6 fused eventually.
The docs now tell me that one more faceplant could easily leave me paralyzed from the neck down. I can no longer board or skate, and I'm still undecided about surfing. My wife & kids still skate, so we still have our boat, and I am the full time driver. I am definitely sympathetic to all to all the riders out there with torn up knees, but I would trade with any of them in a second if I could.
Got my arm caught in the rope on a toe 3...left that gnarliest black, blue and purple bruise from my armpit all the way down to my wrist. My arm was numb for a day, and like someone posted above, it nearly stopped the boat when I went down. Very scary.
Slipped a disc in back learning scarecrows. Couldn't wakeboard for over 6 months, then I re injured it a year later. Had to go through physical therapy and it still isn't 100% but I'm able to ride and throw all my tricks.
Blacked out learning backrolls when I was 13ish. I came to consciousness 15 minutes after it happened and had a nasty headache.
My 2nd time out ever on a wakeboard, I caught a lip and crashed to only have my wakeboard hit me 2x on the bridge of my nose. I was bleeding real good and I thought it was just water. My cousin gets me out of the water and everyone is telling me to sit down.
My cousin got me a Die Trying sticker after that. I still ride that same board. The bindings however are being recycled somewhere.
Last Fall I was doing a TS Backroll to revert and tried to slow my rotation by sticking my left arm out. I fell and overextended my left arm which tore my Pectoral Muscle tendon off the bone. Just had surgery Feb1st and started riding again last week. Pretty uncommon injury but quick recovery after surgery. If you ever have a ton of bruising on your bicep after over extending your arm you may have a torn pec. Most of the pain came from my arm so the doctor's thought it was just my bicep. I was told it would heal on its own so after another month I went back for an MRI and that is when they found it. Surgery is best in the first couple weeks after the injury.
I mashed 2 ribs on a rail once.... tried gapping, slipped out when I popped and gutted it .... once I come out of the water I instantly puked too, its was gross sitting hurt in my own vomit in the water.
When I was about sixteen, I was trying double up threes and tryed to throw it off the wake. Went all off axis and went in nose first. I surfaced saw the boat cheering,and circling back and I went black. I woke up with my dad in the water pulling me back to the boat. I Ended up with a ruptured ear drum, a concussion. It sucked.
I should win this hands down. Sept. 4, 2009, I'm at the lake with my son and 2 of his friends. They all take a set and now it is my turn. After an ok run for a 57 year old, I motioned for my son to do a final double-up. I hit it wrong and went up high, but horizontal and somehow my arm went thru the handle of the rope. An instant later the rope slack is gone and I am jerked around and the handle rips down my arm with enough force and pressure to cut into the arm down to the bone.
I pop up in the water with an intense pain from my right side. Reaching over with my left hand, I can't find or feel my right arm- I thought it was severed off. A few seconds later it floats up and I see it is attached. But my bicep muscle, brachial muscle and artery are stripped from the arm. I see a stub of the artery sticking out and pumping blood into the air like crazy. At the same time I see a floating piece of my muscle and flesh in front of me and I hold that over the severed artery to control bleeding.
My well-trained son doesn't power-turn and is idling back to pick me up. A couple of blood curdling screams gets his attention and he races back and jumps into the water with a friend. It seemed like forever getting my board off, and then help me get onto the platform and laying on the sundeck as I pass out. They call 911 and I come to a little later as they are racing to the dock. One kid has a death grip on my arm over the artery and another is trying hard to keep me conscious and keeping my feet elevated. Before we even get there, there is a Air-Evac helicopter overhead guiding us in.
I spent the next 3 week in the hospital (half in ICU) and had 10 surgeries trying to repair the damage. They took a vein from my leg to replace the artery and saved my arm. There were two attempts to replace the bicep with other muscle but they both failed. The first skin graft to close up my arm also failed due to infection. I was told that I would probably never be able to raise my right arm/hand up to my face (I am left handed thankfully). After getting out of the hospital and waiting a couple of weeks until I had a little strength and the IVs and PICC line is out, I started physical therapy twice a week and am still going faithfully. I can use my arm and can bend my fingers about 90 degrees. I'm not giving up and hope to be able to make a fist with my right hand.
The unexpected challenge has been dealing with blood clots after the surgeries. I've had pulmonary embolisms and even another surgery to unblock a vein in my leg and install a filter and stint. But I have my life and am so grateful for good healthcare and wonderful people who have helped me. There are so many side stories and it is not all over yet either. And I had my first trip back to the lake last Friday. I will be boarding again soon- but will be acting much more like a 58 year old should. Sorry for being so wordy and long winded, but it has felt good to share and get this out. I hope nobody else ever goes through such a freak one in a million accident. I owe my life to my son and his 2 friends. They are all 25ish, eagle scouts and knew what to do without panicking. Another good reason to have an observer or more with you. And why when you have an accident like this does everyone ask if you are going to sell your boat- of course not! They don't understand the love for the water.
This was taken about a month after the hospital and surgeries when it was looking much better- the Dr. says, "that graft is awsome". Yeah, sure.
Actually reading these stories alot you guys have been ruffed over pretty well Id just hate to see any of you not be able to board cause of your injury id say Pauls arm and the spine injury would be near the top
Last edited by Chaserwaser; 04-13-2010 at 3:24 PM.
The arm story wins hands down.
Wow.
Until this it was Jernberg's leg break, but this is intensely gruesome and well described. Paul I truly hope you're ok and that you can still enjoy the sport.
I was trying a Tantrum last year, I didn't cut right, and when I hit the wake I scorpioned in midair and sliced my head open pretty nice.
I was on a lake with a couple of buddies last year. We where out there with two other wakeboats, and the both came by and a buddy caught his edge right where all three wakes combined. 14 stiches to the back of the skull, an all he could feel was the chaffe on his foot where he ejected from his boots... couldnt feel the rest of his body.
Here is a video of me knocking my teeth. My teeth were like bent in. They are still in my mouth just because of the fact that i have brackets.. Since that day I always wear the thing that boxers wear when they ride... The fall does not look so bad
Apinis thats the worst feeling when you know you did something to your teeth haha inside your thinking DAMNIT Once I dove into the pool and had my mouth open my teeth rammed the bottom and my top front teeth all chipped and cracked like after it feel like someone just slammed sand all in your mouth when you chip your teeth, talk about making your vacation suck I guess thats why they have the no diving signs hahah or else im just not a professional diver ... im going to go with option 2
K money these are such freak accidents I wouldnt worry about it to much, the most common problem I see with wakeboarding are your knees, faceplants, and concussions chances are you have probably already experienced two of those haha
Didn't happen to me, but I read it on the Huff Post yesterday:
Winters is a gritty 16-year-old Winter Park High School junior who lost his left leg at mid-thigh and parts of his right leg in a horrific boating accident that nearly killed him 20 months ago, and returned to pitch again in varsity competition Monday night.
He limped to the mound to start the game against Colonial, and he limped off the mound after three outs each inning, taking the ball with a maturity and determination that far exceeds his years. His fastball was clocked at 80 mph, average for high school, but there was nothing average about his return to baseball.
He left opposing batters baffled by his curveball and surprised by his control. He left a crowd of about 500 -- friends, family, baseball curious -- inspired, in awe, cheering and smiling with every pitch. For those that knew his story, there were tears of pride and joy.
He started and allowed just one hit and one unearned run before leaving after one batter in the fifth.
The summer after his freshman year, Winters was boating with his older brother and a couple friends when a sudden sharp turn knocked him overboard into Lake Maitland, where he was run over and almost devoured by the whirling propeller.
His left leg was shredded beyond repair. His right Achilles tendon was sheared and two toes were lost. His buttocks were sliced, and ribs were broken. His femoral artery burst, almost immediately turning the water crimson. Before he lost consciousness, he somehow swam toward the boat, where he was pulled back aboard.
His brother wisely found a ski rope to make a tourniquet, calling 911 as they sped back to shore, fortunate that a hospital helicopter and a trauma center had been alerted.
By the time he reached the hospital, he had lost nearly 80 percent of his blood, and according to one trauma center doctor, it was more than anyone ever had lost, and still lived. He was whiter than the sheets he was laying on.
I broke my ankle (tib and fib) in 2007. It wasn't a hard fall (have definitely had much worse), I was doing a HS 180 in the early part of my run. I landed a bit awkwardly, and basically the board went back towards the wake and my body was traveling in the opposite direction and I rolled my ankle. I felt the pop when this happened so I knew I screwed something up, but I initially thought it was a severe sprain.
I broke my tib, fib snowbaording this past New Years weekend. Last run of the last day! Did the same as you. Launched off a kicked and leaned back to far. When I landed my back edge of the board hit and my weight was to far back. Everything started bending, the a loud SNAP!! I heard and felt it. I knew something broke. I ripped off my board and started trying to walk it off. Didn't work. twisted my boa's as tight as possible and rode the rest of the way down the run. kept the boot on the another 2 hours, then had the gf pull the boot off. That was fun. Went to the doc a few days later. He said some crap about torn this and broken that, wasn't listening to the big fancy words. I was waiting for my chance to ask how long before I'm riding again cuz I have a trip in 2 weeks. He laughed then I laughed and left. 3 weeks later I was riding. I have, however, lost some range of motion and still some pain. Got a lot of riding in thou. I will be working on mobility and range of motion with some bands before wake season starts.
i had a rough year last year trying to get three new tricks before i turned 50 . 1st was a partial tear of my right calf. that was on a air raley attempt. then after six weeks of rehab you'll never believe this i broke my tailbone you guessed it another air raley attempt. so i figured i would go after the hs bs 360 on my way to finally landing 3 of them last year i dislocated my hip. you can imagine by now my wife is saying when is he going to learn he's an old man.we had a dirt bike trip scheduled in september to hatfield and mccoys trails in w.va. i went even though my tailbone was still broken . needless to say things did't go to well i lost 12 hours of my life to a concussion i dislocated my shoulder and a rib as well as bruised multiple ribs on both sides as well as lots of abraisions on my back. i still got in a couple of sets before the end of the season . i even sneeked in a wake jump when my wife wasn't looking.i also dislocated my left hip somewhere after the broken tailbone. can you believe my wife thinks i'm stubborn.she's only gonna let me ride this year if i wear a helmet. hello i was wearing a helmet on the dirt bike. i promised i wouldn't try so hard this year. maybe not the most severe pain but it was almost a whole year of pain!!!
Last edited by cwb4me; 05-03-2010 at 5:33 PM.
Reason: spelling
The fall does not look so bad 
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