Taper Off Tuesday Surf & Culture Report
Sunday was one of those all-time Sandyland days. Not quite big enough for Sappharua to break, but peaks abounded from the rocks to 615 and beyond. To top it all off Sting Ginther was there with his camera and got some great shots of the assembled gladiators, in and out of the pit. #1. Ché rockin' this left all the way to the lifeguard tower. #2. Marco, stroking into this nice little smoothie - he's got the stoke and is in the water at every opportunity. #3. "Zico" Andrew coming out of the hook at about 614½...
A bit cloudy this morning with partial sun and 17 miles visibility. Winds were offshore at checkout at 2.3kts and the sea surface was smooth to glassy. The air temperature was 45.6° and the water was 56.7°. Low tide was at 6:15am +3.0' and high tide will be at 12:13pm +3.7'. Our favorite buoy #46221 is reading a WSW swell out of 206° at 2.3'. All of that translates to a small 1' and poor at most of the local breaks. Things are supposed to get bigger as the week progresses...
Dear All,
It's been a long day, but happy to say that surgery went very well. Dr. Raissi is an amazing surgeon…he's brilliant, calm, collected, and has an excellent manner. Surgery wrapped up around 3pm after starting just after 7am. The surgery itself is a thing of wonder. As part of the process, they actually dropped my Dad's core temperature down to 12 degrees (F) and kept him there for about ½ hour while they did the major work on the aorta. This was done to stop his circulatory system and prevent his body's immune system from hampering with the surgery. Dad doesn't like to be cold, so, despite the anesthesia, I'm sure we'll hear about this!
The aneurysm was massive…8cm x 6cm, and Dr. Raissi said it was the largest he'd ever seen. After it was removed, they had it laid out by a ruler and it was nearly 6" long! Your normal ascending aorta should look like a narrow garden hose…about 2cm in diameter and perhaps 1.5" long. His aorta was like a bulging hose with a mass the size of a large peach blowing out the side. The aneurysm Dad had was so large that it was pushing against his bronchial tube as well as his lung. This explains the fatigue he has had at tennis, stairs, etc. All his doctors are in awe that he was able to do so many sports and be so constantly active with this size aneurysm. During the surgery they also found a major blood clot within the aneurysm, and while no one knows for sure, Dr. Raissi felt this could have caused his TIA nearly 5 years ago. Dr. Raissi removed the aneurysm and the clot and replaced it with Dacron. Although a bit intense to see, the before and after photos Dr. Raissi took were amazing. Dr. Raissi also conducted a double bypass of arteries that feed the heart muscle using arteries from Dad's arm and chest. Dr. Raissi explained that while they sometimes have historically used veins (sometimes from the leg), that using arteries is the equivalent of the copper piping in your home….made to last a lifetime.
Dad is currently in the ICU and should be taken out off anesthesia later this evening. When he arrived in the ICU, his heart was fully functional along with his other organs. He'll have a breathing tube through tomorrow. By Friday, he should hopefully be ready for discharge. Modern medicine is truly amazing. On behalf of Barb ara and all of our family, we can't thank you all enough for your kind words and prayers…they made this difficult situation all the more bearable. God's grace has shown on my Dad; may it also on you.
Love,
Paul
(We have never been able to get any past Carol. History, politics, polemics... good on ya'... Ed.)
Riding the fiberglass wave:
Since I have little creative skill; I was irked as a grade school student when my classmates would arrive with their crafty assignments looking like minature Xanadu [watched Citizen Kane the other evening, other wise I'd have mentioned Hearst San Simeon]; while mine looked the equivalent of stick-figure drawings. This early childhood irritation was reawakened when my own children went through somewhat the same experience when they were in grade school; except they had Kiana and her Uncle Bud.
Teachers should rephrase the assignment. Something like: "Please remind your parents that they are to have their replica California Mission, or medieval castle, or White House, or whatever submitted by the end of next week, or points will be deducted and your grades will suffer. . . "
Paver
(Did you ever see the Professor's/Julia's Mission San Carlos Borromeo? He used copies of the plans. So far it has been used a half a dozen times... No child has ever actually touched it... Ed.)
"When the surf breaks, we'll fix it..."
The Professor!!
