Geologist Tom Palastanga, a 29-year-old surfer from New Zealand, is lucky to be alive and have his eyesight after stabbing himself in the face with his board while surfing Maori Bay. While ducking a wave Palastanga felt another surfer’s board smack his face. But when he reached up to see if his nose was broken he got another surprise, according to a story in the New Zealand Herald.
“I felt my face because I thought my nose might be a bit out of shape and then I felt this thing sticking out of my face – it was a good 20cm out of my face. . . “I realised then it was a bit of his board that had snapped off and was sticking out of my cheek … it was pretty surreal, it was a horrible situation.” . . The board smashed through his left cheek, fractured the floor of his left eye-socket and went through the sinus and Nasal cavity into the pharynx at the back of the throat.
After making it back to the beach with the nose of his board still protruding from his face, Palastanga was taken to the hospital where doctors reportedly spent four hours removing the board from his face. Amazingly, it appears that all he’ll have from the ordeal is a scar from the 14 stitches he received.
[Link: New Zealand Herald]
