This summer has been nonstop of great trips, activities and events.

Words by Mary Osborne

I started off my back to back travels in April with a Etnies Photo shoot to NYC, then straight to Costa Rica for the Robert August “Surf n Turf” surf contest, then to Guatemala with the Robert August surf crew for a surf adventure, Paris for Etnies 20th anniversary party and sales meetings, Indonesia 2x for my sponsor Patagonia and now this weekend I am heading for a “vacation” to Belize.

Its been a fantastic summer but it doesnt stop yet. After Belize I am attending a formal event in NYC for the Women’s Sports Foundation. You can check it out at www.womenssportsfoundation.com. From there I will be heading to Costa Rica for a all girl’s Patagonia surf trip in search of waves and adventure on our friend Liz Clark’s sailboat. My goal is to take a bit of a breather and stay home for the new Winter swells here in my hometown of Ventura, CA come Nov 2nd. I love traveling but it will be nice to surf locally around my house with my family and friends as well as shoot pictures with my favorite local photographer David Pu’u.

Last week’s update: I returned home from a 14 day boat trip in Indonesia with lots of scrapes and cuts on my legs. I have been hearing abot Staph infections for years and how common they are with surfers but to be honest I never thought I would get it. After doing a paddle for Surfrider Foundation in Santa Barbara harbor my knee starting hurting. The minor cut I had became really infected and pussing everywhere. I tried to clean it and avoid the doctor but my friends convinced me it was Staph and I had to go to the doctor. It was the most pain I have felt in a while when the doctor shot my infection up with novicane. He scraped out the staph and drained it of any fluids. I was given several sets of antibiotics to take but my stomach was disagree with them. I was sick to my stomach the entire first day and ended up vomiting all over the local gas station. It was pretty funny.

That night I attended a slide show party at my sponsor, Patagonia, building in Ventura. I thought I was getting better but me knee swelled up even more. It looked like I had two legs. I was a bit scared because I have heard of people getting this infection and loosing legs, arms, etc etc. I went back to the emergency room to hopefully get a IV drip of antibiotics but instead I walked away with two shots in my butt to help with the swelling. The next day I went back to the doctor and things were looking wayyy better. I was told not to surf and stay out of the water. The waves were so fun that weekend that I managed to sneak a quick surf session in. It wasnt the brightest idea but I couldnt resist and the wond was looking better. So i taped the heck out of the wound and cleaned it really good when I returned ashore. I just went to my last doctors visit yesterday and everything looks great now!

I still have my leg!!!