Alejo Valido, a 13-year-old surfer from the Canary Islands, recently suffered a horrendous injury while surfing. He underwent surgery and is expected to recover, but the images are gruesome.
Valido is an extraordinarily talented surfer. Just entering his teenage years, he’s already making his presence known with his hard-charging surfing. It’s not exactly clear at the moment how his fin became embedded in his lower back, but it happened at a spot called El Quemao, a heavy wave that counts among one of the best in the world.
After he was hurt, Valido was taken to a hospital in Lanzarote. When the extent of his injuries became apparent, he was flown to Gran Canaria for surgery to remove the fin from his sacrum, which is a bony structure at the bottom of the back and connects to the pelvis. In another recent accident, Coco Nogales broke his pelvis and sacrum at Todos Santos.
Once out of surgery, Valido took to Instagram to thank those who rescued him.
“First of all I would like to thank @chisco74 , @christian_jimenez_lanzarote, and @marianuig (I will come to see you and teach you how to surf as I promised) for having accompanied me the whole time in the Lanzarote hospital until the next day when my flight to Gran Canaria was able to leave,” he wrote. “To those who were on the beach, the ambulance staff that took me, the Jose Molina Orosa Hospital, the medical plane, the team that operated on me at the Maternity Hospital in Gran Canaria and the staff of the pediatric surgery ward.”
While his injury could have been much worse, he’s expected to make a full recovery. “In a couple of months I hope to be fighting again,” he finished.
We’re looking forward to seeing what Valido does once he’s back in the water, and we’re wishing him the speediest of recoveries.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article contained images of Valido’s injuries. They have been removed at the request of his parents.
