Surfside Weekend.

Surfside/stingray weekend. 

   So this weekend, I planned on going to the beach for the day and doing some serious relaxing.. Come to find out, a good family friend, had a friend who had a vacant beach house this weekend! What a coincidence! So they invited us to stay the weekend, and without a moment of doubt, we started packing! 

   After a rushed car ride all the way to Surfside, Texas. We arrived at a beautiful beach house! It backed up to a canal that ran from the Inter coastal waterway. We were about 5 minutes away from the beach by car, and to our excitement, we were only about 10 minutes away from the many Buc-ee's that Clute, and Surfside has to offer. We unpacked that night, talked for hours, and got comfortable. The next morning, we headed to the beach after a homemade pancake breakfast! We stayed for several hours, and played out in the beautiful water, made sand castles, ran around like we were free as we could ever be. It was a great time. 

   As soon as we got back to the beach house, we showered off, and started fishing. One of my favorite past-times. We fished for hours. Teaching the kids to cast and bait their own hooks with pieces of the slimy squid we paid an arm and a leg for, down at one of the only bait shops there. (They know they can charge a lot, since the closest town with a Walmart or grocery store is at least 15 miles away!) The kids caught fish, and the adults took pictures and cheered them on, after each tiny catch. We grilled some burgers and sausage, took yet another trip to Buc-ee's, and once again talked into the wee hours of the night. 

   So, the next morning, we slept in for a while, woke up and relaxed on the breezy deck of the two story house. And after a bit of cleaning, we decided we were going to go hit the beach one last time. We figured we'd get packed up, and everything cleaned, and just get back to the house after, to shower off, and put everything in the car. WELL, that didn't go as planned, of course.

   After Garrett and I swam in the water for a good hour, riding around on a little boogey-board, I decided I'd go out and rinse my bathing suit out, since it was sandy and gross. Everyone else had already started cleaning up, and getting ready to go. I was floating around, and let my right foot hit the sandy sea bottom, to my surprise, something "pinched" my middle toe. Shocked, I looked up and yelled to my mom, "Something just got my foot!" And sort of swam off.. It was pretty painful, I thought it was a crab or something similar, until I got up to the shoreline, to see it bleeding.. We rinsed it off with some fresh water, and Garrett carried me up to the concrete. (Yep, it was hurting bad.) By this point, I was panting, and trying to catch my breath, whatever happened, it was burning unusually. I started walking, and rinsing, walking, and rinsing.. Shaking my hands around to try to get my mind off the pain.. Well by this point it was hurting so bad, that I finally said, "I need to go to the hospital." The pain was shooting up in my leg, all the way to my thigh. Rubbing didn't help, moving didn't help, nothing would stop that horrible pain.
   In the meantime, my mom had gone up to a hotel, and told them to call an ambulance for me. Since we didn't know where the closest hospital was. By this point, I was in tears. My body was shaking. My chin was quivering, it was terrible. I knew that this wasn't a crab pinch, it was something much worse. The woman at the hotel said it sounded like a stingray had barbed me. And she hit the nail on the head.

   After a quick ride in an ambulance to Lake Jackson, after the paramedic established that it was in fact a stingray that got me, we pulled into Brazosport Cancer Center. (What a coincidence, right?) And they immediately stuck my foot into hot hot water. WOW! What a difference... After only a few minutes, the hot intense pain had stopped. My foot, finally felt normal again. Although it was swollen about twice it's normal size. They took me back, I filled out some paperwork, they x-ray'd my foot, to establish if they had to remove a barb or not. And thankfully, the barb had come out, in the act of me cleaning the cut at the hotel outdoor shower. They gave me a prescription for antibiotics. And the advice to keep it very clean, and put it in hot hot water to help the burning. For pain, they told me to take my normal pain meds. And sent me on my way. We loaded up, made a quick stop at Buc-ee's for some coffee and sweets, and finally made it home. A few hours later than we intended, but at least we were home. 

   I must say, that I have never in my life felt pain like the sting of a stingray. I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone! The nurses at Brazosport Hospital took very good care of me. And we had a fantastic time at the beach house. Although our trip ended a little different than we had planned, it was so much fun, and I guess I have an interesting story to tell, and a little scar to show off. 

  After a little research about stingrays, I DID find out, that a stingray is one of the top 10 animals with the most painful stings. Up there with a black widow, a stone fish, a viper, and a few others. 

   Only me. LOL! So I give a little warning to anyone out in the water, just be careful when others are fishing, and the water is churning around, the paramedics said that that is when they are the most prevalent, as in my situation. 

 But still, always enjoy the beach, because to me, seeing the "hugeness" of it, and feeling the sand between your toes, and the salty air blowing around, makes me feel like I'm right there with God. Like He's right there with me. It's spiritual to me. And I always will love it. Even if I got stung by a critter under the water. 

                                                                                                           -Jess