Talented surfer Nick Njapha (28) from Sea Park is recovering from a surfing accident which occurred in Umzumbe on June 7.
Nick spent 15 days in Port Shepstone Regional Hospital recovering from lacerations to his kidney and liver.
The great news is that he was discharged from hospital yesterday (Wednesday).
However, he will have to spend the next month or so, in recovery at home.
Nick is a sponsored surfer, and works for the Umzumbe Surf House and Surf Camp as a surfing instructor, and this accident comes as a major set-back for him.
He didn’t want to get into too much details as to how the accident happened. However, he said it was high tide, and he took off on a wave, and after his manoeuvre landed on rocks.
“It was just a complete accident! I could not move after it happened, and I was in an enormous amount of pain. Luckily, I was surfing with Andrew Lange and Justin Maisch, who together with the lifeguards, helped me out of the water,” he said.
Nick admits the waves were ironically epic that day.
He is grateful to everyone who helped him that morning, including Andy Fink, who responded so quickly and drove him to hospital.
Nick said the doctors have told him, that he is lucky to be alive.
“This is my second bad surfing accident. I ruptured my spleen in 2019,” he added.
Nick’s girlfriend, Marina Scharfen started a Back-a-Buddy fundraiser to help raise funds to get Nick the care he deserves, as well as, aid him in his journey of recovery.
“He will also be out of the water for a while meaning he won’t have income from surf lessons, so we just want to give him some hope for the future,” she said, thanking everyone for their support.
Anyone who knows Nick, knows he is the type of person whose smile lights up an entire room.
“His positive stoke and energy brings you up and makes you feel that life should be easy and light-hearted. Nick is not only a talented surfer and surf instructor but an incredible friend who always goes to great lengths for people,” she added.
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