James Ford, 34, South Yarra, Vic
Standing up on my board I gave a cheer as I glided into shore. It was January 2009 and I'd just finished my first surfing lesson while on holiday in Noosa. Paddling back out, I was determined to stand up again.
With a big wave on my tail I pushed up on my hands and attempted to get up. But my balance was off and I was thrown into the surf. 'Argh!' I yelled as I went down.
Plunging into the water headfirst, I swallowed a huge gulp of sea water. As it went down I felt a rubbery thing go with it. I gasped for breath as I came up, wondering what I had swallowed. Must've been seaweed, I thought.
After another half hour of surfing I decided to call it quits. 'What's that?' my mate Craig, 32, asked, pointing to my face. 'What's what?' I said, confused.
'You've got a big red burn on your face,' he said.
Touching my cheek I could feel a welt from the corner of my mouth right out to my ear. 'Hey, you know what?' he said. 'It looks like a jellyfish sting.'
Suddenly I recalled swallowing the rubbery substance. 'Oh no,' I said, starting to feel sick. 'I swallowed a jellyfish!'
Our flights back to Victoria were booked for the next day, so I knew I wouldn't have time to do anything about it until I got home. 'Hopefully I won't be sick on the plane,' I said to Craig as we packed our bags.
Arriving back home I went straight to the doctor. 'Well I haven't heard of this happening before...' my doctor said after I explained what had happened. 'I think it's best if we send you for a CT scan to make sure it was a jellyfish that you swallowed.'
Lying on the CT examination table I felt nervous. Will it actually show up as a jellyfish? I wondered.
'Oh my God,' I heard the radiologist say. Well, I guess that answers my question! I laughed.
Back at the doctor's he showed me the scans. 'Wow, that's awesome' I said, staring at the jellyfish, the size of a golf ball, in my stomach.
'You have two options,' the doctor told me. 'You either excrete it naturally, or you can vomit it up.' Feeling rather sick from the jellyfish already, I decided my best bet would be to throw it up.
After two attempts my stomach was empty. Now I know for next time that when I take a dive in the ocean, I'll keep my mouth shut!
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