I have not been fishing in a few weeks. For the last few months I have been in and out of doctors’ offices. Each time it was for my nose. At the most recent visit I was informed that I would need to go into surgery. Inside of my nose there was a small growth about the size of a nickel. It was cancerous, not moving fast, but needed to be dealt with.
A fishing guide like myself is typically awake before the sun comes up. I meet clients at the dock, we get geared up and ready to go. The boat is put in the water and we are on the fish while the sun is just coming over the horizon. I never think to put sunscreen on my face, especially my nose/forehead. I have not found any sunscreen that does not burn my eyes. Even the baby sunscreen burns! So, when the sun finally starts getting hot around 10-11am, I tell myself I don’t have much more time out here, maybe a few hours, and disregard the sunscreen. Years and years of being a fishing guide in Galveston Bay has taken a toll on me. The surgery I went through was to remove the cancerous lesion inside my nose.
The surgery consisted of a few things. First, I had to have skin removed from my forehead to put on my nose to reconstruct it. Second, they had to take some ‘meat’ from underneath that skin on my forehead and use it to pack my nose, so it looks normal. The doctor has attached a skin flap to the top of my head to keep the blood flow going into the skin (keeps it alive), until they are ready to perform the next surgery to make me myself again.
I have put some pictures below. The pain was pretty bad the first few nights, but I have managed. It was more than I expected, even after I tried to get myself ready for this surgery. The doctor has assured me that in one year you will never be able to tell I had this surgery done.
The moral of this story to regular people, other fishing guides and anyone who is in the sun a lot, is to wear sunscreen. Regardless of how inconvenient it is, or thinking you don’t need it, you should. This did not happen overnight, it happened over a long period of time. I am lucky this was not anything more serious than it was. Do yourself a favor and take preventative measures while fishing in Galveston Bay and being out in the sun.
This experience has taught me something, but it won’t slow me down or keep me off the water for long. I will be taking clients out this month and next. If you are looking for a fishing guide , give me a shout. Remember to wear sunscreen!
Capt. Bobby Elliott
‘SPEC’ Some Action Adventures
