What to do When you Can’t Surf

Eighteen years ago I was 18 years old. At that age, I would have never fathomed that 18 years later I would be celebrating the retrieval of my 18 viable eggs. 

At age 18, all I wanted to do was surf in the moments between high school classes and summer work. When I graduated and went off to college, I thought for certain that I would be a youngish mom and have my life figured out by my mid-twenties. Long story short, I was very wrong, young, and naive. 

At age 36, I decided to freeze my eggs. Motherhood has always been something I have dreamed of accomplishing in my lifetime. I’ve always imagined myself to be surfing while pregnant just like Bethany Hamilton and Carissa Moore. I hope I'll soon realize my lifelong dream of surfing pregnant! 

Five days into injecting myself with hundreds of units of hormones, my doctors told me at an ultrasound that I was a “fast responder.” In other words, I was healthy and my follicles ate up the juice fast. My doctor lowered my dosages of stims, but unfortunately, I developed a moderate case of ovarian hyper stimulation (OHSS) syndrome. A week into the treatment, I had a giant pregnant-looking belly and felt terrible. I was fortunate to have 20 eggs retrieved and 18 mature eggs frozen. But the recovery from the fluid that leaked into my abdomen and the swelling from my stretched 5-inch ovaries was more than I ever expected. I was completely unprepared for the discomfort and hormone crash after my retrieval. 

Winter waves were hitting local beaches, and I wanted nothing more than to get in the water. But I was in no shape to squeeze into a wetsuit, or even return to yoga for weeks after my fertility treatments. Before egg freezing, you also have to avoid exercising because of the risk of twisting your ovaries. Plus, you will be so uncomfortable from the bloating and pain anyways that you won’t want to! 

How long after egg retrieval surgery does it take before surfing again? 

Well, for me I am just finally feeling back to myself physically and mentally almost 3 weeks after egg retrieval. And I will probably wait another week and a half longer before getting back in the water. Including the two weeks of injections before surgery, I will be at about 5-6 weeks of no surf before I get back in the water. I also got a sinus infection about 2 weeks after my retrieval, and had the joy of experiencing OHSS recovery pain with a gnarly cold! This was a much longer recovery than I ever had anticipated. I’m taking it day by day. 

What have I been doing to kill time while I can’t surf and recover from egg freezing? 

1. Watching other surfers (Yes. I saw dolphins and kids playing with rad floating surfer toys and had moments of pure enjoyment!)
2. Going on long beach walks
3. Making cool ocean-themed puzzles 
4. Reading about surfing (I read a novel turned movie called “The Tribes of Palos Verdes”) 
5. Designing my new Walden surfboard 
6. Shopping for new surf gear 

While I haven’t been able to enjoy surfing physically, I have had lots of time to focus on surfing-related activities that have brought me so much joy and peace. If anything, not being able to be physically active because of freezing my eggs has taught me that I can still enjoy my favorite hobby of surfing in many other ways. Writing this post reminds me of how many positive moments related to surfing I have enjoyed during this surfless holiday season even though I can’t surf right now. 

Once I am ready to get back in the water, I have no doubt that I will have used my time out of the water wisely. I know I’ll have much more satisfaction and gratefulness when I return to surfing because I kept myself motivated to stay engaged with the surf community in other ways. 

My advice for anyone who can’t surf because of a physical injury, surgery, or other ailment, is to keep surfing close to you. Keep engaging with surfing in new ways. You might find yourself experiencing moments of sheer happiness and weightlessness similar to what we experience while floating about and gliding across the water.