My whole life I’ve been told to be careful around ropes, especially when going on boats. On October 25, 2020, my brother’s 25th birthday, he made the mistake of grabbing a rope while he was wake surfing. What came next changed his life forever. Like many people do their first time wake surfing, he fell. The rope he wasn’t supposed to touch was in his hand at the time. While falling, the rope tangled around his hand and entwined around his thumb. When the boat and the rope raced away, it took his thumb with it. 

The momentum of his fall and the pull of the rope in opposite directions sent him into a world of pain when he came up screaming.  As a golf player who just turned pro, everytime he looked at where his thumb should’ve been, he was looking at his dreams dissipate. Something he worked for since high school, throughout college, and after college everyday was no longer an option. Boat safety is such an important thing to abide by because accidents happen.

I’ve always heard of stories like this but to witness it happen to someone I love so much and look up to is astonishing. After two surgeries to clean the wound and prevent infection he went to golf practice and practiced for two hours with one hand. One more surgery is ahead of him where they’ll take his second toe and put it where his thumb was. Hopefully he’ll overcome this heartbreaking roadblock and achieve his dreams in the near future.