You Only Go Around Once, So Give It All You’ve Got!

Biography of Ron Warren

 

 

I am 45 years old and live in San Pedro, California with my wife of 20 years and two teenage children.  I lost my leg as a result of a motorcycle/car collision on December 8, 1979, after returning from diving and surfing in Maui for a year.  Racing down a mountain on my street bike, I hit a patch of gravel and slid into oncoming traffic.  A Triumph TR4 was racing up the same curve and we met with a combined speed of 100 miles per hour, sandwiching my left leg in the impact.  A 720 degree twist below the knee, a broken femur, and a catapult landing left onlookers turning white as I yelled for the driver’s t-shirt to apply my own tourniquet.  Amazingly, after being flown off the mountain and nearly dieing from fatty emuli clotting, my doctor was able to re-attach my leg with the help of micro surgeons, plastic surgeons, and a Hoffman device.  The next 3 ½ years, 27 surgeries, and repeated mega-doses of anti-biotic left me with a hospital-acquired “super germ” that was resistant to all treatment.  Weary and faced with no guarantees of healing, I chose to move on with my life by having my lower left leg amputated.  It truly allowed me to return to active living again.  I skied on one foot, regularly scuba dived, and captained ocean vessels, but never thought I would surf again.  For the past 17 years, I have owned and operated Warren Diving, a commercial diving business with a record of over 200 boats successfully raised.  I also captain a cargo and towing vessel around and between Los Angeles Harbor and Catalina Island.  It was not until 1999 that I discovered recent prosthetic advancements could allow me to return to my second love of surfing, and what a fulfilling return it has been!  My first love, my wife, joined my passion by learning to surf at the age of 40, and we continue to be active together.  In 2003, I surfed the internet wave and discovered Ampsurf.  Excited for the opportunity to meet fellow amputee surfers, I attended the clinic in Pismo and met Dana, Rodney, John, Greg, Paul and others who were trying surfing for the first time.  What a rush!  To do something so fulfilling with others who can truly relate to the problems, and the victories, of being an amputee.  The clinic experience inspired me to join U.S. Surfing Federation’s circuit and I have since competed regularly on the West coast.  I look forward to future competitions and the fulfillment of living life to its fullest.  Why not!  You only go around once!