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Surfing almost killed Amy Schumer. Now, 30 years after a major injury kept her out of the water, she returned to the same beach with her son.
Though now Schumer is best known for her comedy, as a teenager she did surf the waters near her hometown of New York City. However, that all came to an end after a traumatic experience she endured in her teenage years, “I have a pretty bad scar on my leg from surfing,” Schumer told Vanity Fair in a 2016 interview. “Forty-one stitches, three layers. I skegged myself. My whole fin went into my leg, and I had to yank it out.”
To make matters worse, she found herself at a virtually empty beach, with no help in sight. “I found like one guy with this other guy,” she continued. “I was like, ‘I need you to hold my leg.’ I was delegating. And he held my leg closed with his bare hands — just fat and blood coming out. I wish I knew who that guy was, because he saved my life, for sure. He had blue toenail polish and nail polish; he had long stringy hair. And I remember him being beautiful. Anyway, he held my leg closed.”
Soon, more people did arrive to help and a crowd formed around her – including Schumer’s father, who had arrived to watch her surf. “I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to die. I can’t believe I’m going to die like this,'” she told VF. “Then I’m like, ‘Oh, no [I’m not going to die] — but I’m going to lose my leg.’ And now I’m going to have to go and be a speaker at high schools and, like, motivate people. I was so annoyed about my life. I was just like, ‘Ucchh.’ And then it was fine.”
She didn’t lose the leg, and though doctors at Long Beach hospital stitched her up, her days of surfing were over. Until recently, that is. “Today with the encouragement from Will Skudin and my falling in love with surfing at Skudin Surf, I was able to get back up on the horse and show my little boy I wouldn’t let fear hold me back anymore,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “We rode waves together and hugged and laughed and he told me he was proud of me. I want to thank the incredible staff at Skudin, especially Ryder, for helping my son discover his love of surfing and helping me overcome my fear and get back on the board. Very emotional day. So proud.”
