“Without a doubt this head injury was the worst injury I’ve ever had.”
Two months ago, the big-wave surfer Kai Lenny was hospitalised after a wipeout that destroyed his helmet during the Backdoor Shootout, Pipeline’s sixth scalp for the winter.
Addressing his myriad fans, which include legendary MMA cornerman Mark Zuckerberg, from his hospital bed at the Pali Momi medical centre near Pearl Harbour, Kai Lenny wrote:
“First time wearing a helmet at Pipeline and it may have saved my life. I don’t remember much except that it was during my heat in the #DaHuiBackdoorShootout and the lifeguards sat me down in a chair at the Beach Park. I have a solid concussion and some bleeding out of my left ear.”
The world’s best surfers were quick to acknowledge how his life might’ve drastically zigged if Kai Lenny didn’t have the polycarbonate shell on his head.
“The helmet,” wrote Jack Robinson, punctuating the profundity with two sets of prayer hands.
“Glad you are okay Kai Lenny. TEAM HELMET,” wrote Jamie O’Brien.
Now, an injured brain ain’t something to take lightly.
Who can forget when Owen Wright, a one-time world title contender suffered a delayed brain injury after a wipeout at Pipeline in 2015 that was so bad docs told him he’d never surf, maybe never even walk again? Or current world champ Filipe Toledo, a man for whom even the spectre of brain injury gave his neat little belly cartwheels and forced him off tour?
Earlier this morning, Kai Lenny posted a photograph of his brain being examined by the noted medico Dr Jason Keifer at Brain Health Hawaii.
“Since my head injury at PIPELINE on January 4th, I’ve been doing everything I can to get back on the horse and become better than I was.
“Without a doubt this head injury was the worst injury I’ve ever had. However, it has been a blessing in disguise because it led me to working with Dr. Keifer at @brainhealthhawaii. I’ve had concussions throughout my life and I was able to get answers to questions I didn’t know I had. Truly life changing.
“If you’ve had a concussion / head injury or even if you haven’t I highly recommend getting an EEG Brain Scan. The tools that are available nowadays are absolutely incredible.”
I’ve had a few brushes with brain trauma, hell beaten out of me outside a Surfers Paradise nightclub after my drunk chick picked a fight, concussed, scrambled thoughts, slurred speech, had same girl suggested I be admitted to a psych ward. And, at ten, wrongly fed psychedelics by doctor that led to a wild few weeks tripping in and out of a Hunger Games scenario where participants competed to see who could behead themselves with the best style.
Real vivid memory, sitting up in my bed, weeping, thinking I’m cradling my own head.
Rad!
How about you?
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You’re a good egg aren’t you 🙂
Xox
Let’s hear more about those psychedelics.
I’m sure it’s not the first helmet he’s had smashed in his face.
Head Injuries is my favourite Midnight Oil album
Road bike racing the kook in front of me caused a wreck, went head first into the concrete at 30mph. Blacked out for a while, somehow got to my hotel, woke up next day and hotel bed destroyed blood everywhere and I had terrible vertigo. Fuckers should have called an ambulance, I could have died if I had brain bleed
gotta leave hawaii to seek real treatment from real doctors brah
Yeah, there are really good, high tech TBI treatment centers in places like Utah.
Utah has its own horrors, but they do an amazing job with TBIs.
Back in the day, an event called Da Hui Backdoor Shootout would have involved bullet wounds, but no arrests.
Best wishes to Kai.
Explains his sunset results.
Once, didn’t make section,board shot
out, caromed back ,and bludgeoned me so hard on bridge of nose that my eyeballs both got knocked out of alignment,so for about twenty seconds,I had peripheral vision akin to a chameleon or horse.
Certainly broadened my horizons.
Wait… A DR Kai Lenny article without mention of honeyed complexion, bee stung lips and intoxicating brown eyes…..what’s going on?
Dekka’s slipping, but don’t you like his current obsession with Felipe’s tummy ? a bit “like Madonna when she did Lucky Star”…
I got sucked off by a mad russian biological woman in the crypt under st marys cathedral , then i crashed my car in the sacristy carpark.
Its been fuking with my head ever since
Straight to the confessional with a can of mace to top it off?
My last confession was in a small church in eastern Samar.
I couldnt really lay anything on the poor cunt, just you know, i forgot to go to church about a couple of thousand times.
They’re not sposed to tell the jacks anything but
A couple of hail marys later and i was good to go!!
Yeah I know the feeling.
You go talk Your catholic priest about sex sins and straight away his hitting you up for contacts and if you know any keen kid’s
You never hear about the good ones.
This is so good.
Xox
I really liked it.
Russian interferance feels awesome
With an aching head from last night’s buffet of fish burritos and excess liquid consumption, behold, a baseball mammory…let’s prey: Gonna
watch more Angels’ games this year ’cause the whole Dodger production
scene is so repetitous starting with carl’s jr ads, continous bogus
hypes & cliches from announcers, useless stats, same cam angles,
innumerable foul balls, bad umpiring, ceaseless interviews w/ no
insight…Ohtani or no Ohtani…or is this just a grumpy purist that
still beckons to the old days when I beat the MBLL Red Sox 1-0 in a dual
pitching match ‘tween me and Chris Smith; each of us firing
one-hitters. My home run was key and the next day on The Martyr’s
playground Chris responded by punching me out, again. we were 12 years
old…then we’d go pray in church…54 years ago! ahhhh, noggin much mo’ betta. Now my stomach hurts!
Thats very relateable
xricket?
message mjy sex=a=tary for stories or complaints?
The rollercoaster emotions post concussion is the worst. I believe it wears off, or I could be permanently fucked
Fr. Junipero Serra of missionary fame wrote that as he waked the
shores of C St he witnessed Chumash Indians riding canoes and there was a
terrible wipe-out and a death. Fast fwd and Tom Morey held one of the
first longboard contests there. Later there were WSA, NSSA, and Bud Lite
tours. That said…20K years ago VTA had water that was as clear as The
Seychelle’s. Who’s to blame? With $350M and a new ww
treatment/recycling facility in the works…the WSL says that “we remain
committed to cleaning up the environs… (without spending a wooden
nickel) and we honor any native’s right to surf in any contests they
want. Just don’t get injured ’cause we won’t be spending (a silver coin)
for medical treatment. BTW We Are All of The OCean (and sometimes The
Land). Plant More Mangroves!”
It’s a possible problem with ageing and dementia.
Look at football.
Issue being I sincerely doubt the surfers sponsors and sport bodies they have now will still exist in five to ten years time.
At least the footballers have someone in their corner long term.
When you are BFF’s with Zuck you don’t need a GoFundMe. You have less of your soul and no moral compass but no medical bills.
barbershop? all you got? need a commie push from sharpton>.miss africa?
Fuck yeah cunt, feeling the love.
Xox
Chas has left me feeling concussed with his latest string of articles. Class action litigation, anyone?
you read those?
Copped some king hits that never knocked me out, weak cunts. I was so pretty that dudes would fucking just wallop me. Now I’m bigger in stature it hasn’t happened for a while. Had the tail of my board rattle my cage via sling shotting into the base of my nose above my teeth, could have been so much worse. A car accident that bounced me pretty hard. I was always a sad and weird kid but this stuff didn’t help, my world that I built fell apart 18 months ago. I’ve been trying so very hard since then, a brain scan may give some answers. Generally cognitively in the right environment I appear intelligent and engaged but my memory is poor but I suspect mainly due to being ambivalent to many things that don’t interest me. I am rather like a crystal though, I can produce some magic but I just need a charge from a moon from time to time. Truth be told I’m a really lovely person and this may be my true undoing. The universe has offered me many gifts and I’ve never felt truly worthy of them.
Cunts.
Xox
After reading that I believe you are truly worthy of them, cunt
was sent to the in box,,,tested clean? XXXXXXXX
This is really lovely, thank you, cunt.
Xox
we don’t have a nostalgic/romantic surbdivsion in ur neighborhood, Yet?
Dangerous game being a pretty boy, dudes will try knock it out of you
It was wild, the times few I fought back against bullies I’d start to win against all odds and their friends would THEN break it up. Actual cunts.
Xox
Its a fiftys thing, legend.
I’m way before my time then. I just want to be settled and have some balance.
Xox
Its all very tricky.
one day at a time … just fwiw, in a good place now but had some pretty rough moments for a bit just a few years ago. Longer story but nutshell is ended up living in random room over some old folks’ garage w/ nothing to my name but a couple boards and wetsuits, and a brokedown ancient trailblazer my parents let me drive bc couldn’t afford anything else. Drank like a thirsty fish, wondered why the fuck I wasted my first 45 years on dumb shit, didn’t see a hell of a lot to wake up for. Dawn patrols, a bunch of random eastern philosophy books, and most of all an impressive woman pulled me out of it. The bitters still hit here and there at 51, but only takes a cold beer or two and a look from the missus to kick back on them. So it gets better, sometimes in unexpected ways, even if you can’t see it now. xoxox
Thank you Rocks, I am implementing great measures and I am getting results.
I run a very tight ship currently.
Big love.
Xox
Patiently waiting here in exile to be injury free ana for a lovely Aztec temptress to re kindle the Mojo. Never give up
yep
You’re family here, cunt. Lots of love 😘
This is beautiful ol’ Gil. What a sweet place xox
You are loved here. Nothing brightens my day like seeing dogsnuts graze the message board with some insight
I never knew I was so treasured!
Awwww.
Xox
well, now you do cunt
That’s what you get for wearing a cord, pretty boy.
This jolly good cunt deserves “Red Rocket” badge named in his honor..
Thank you for sharing this. SO much more interesting than Kai’s bumped noggin. I can relate on many levels. Like a good sword, we are tempered by trials of fire. The strong snap back; the weak are broken. Under 50? Hang in there, lil brother.
You’re most welcome.
Xox
Best wishes my friend.
If you need a chat, many of us are available.
Hey channelbottom, fancy seeing you here! These days it’s mostly Business Pout and Business Bottom meeting up in the Business Place 💩
This means a lot just knowing there are so many good people amongst us.
Xox
Well damn. I never expect my daily read of the grit to get me in my feels, no matter that it’s happened numerous times now. Hope you keep up keeping up, and if you do get some brain testing let us know what comes of it.
CUNTS
How many likes did da Kai get wit dat post?
Plenny.