Peruvian surfer Joaquín del Castillo, who suffered an accident at Pipe last week, underwent hip surgery and is recovering well at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu, he said in a video posted on Instagram.

“Fortunately the operation was a success, everything went well. I am going through the most difficult moment of my life. Yesterday, which was the second day after the operation, they tried to make me walk and I couldn’t because of the pain. It was too intense and I was very strong. And today I took my first steps, I sat up in bed, and I thought that with my foot down and the weight on it would hurt a lot, but it didn’t,” said Joaquín.

She added: “Afterwards I stood up for a bit and it was also a success. I did feel a weight and a pain in my hip but it was better than I thought. I want to thank you for the messages, the support and the unity, it makes a lot of difference and it helps me to feel better. I continue to evolve quite well and I have a lot of faith and a lot of strength.”

Images of the crash were published after it became public, showing Joaquín heading towards Backdoor and straightening up after he saw that the wave was about to close.

The lip fell directly on his hip and it is presumed that that is what fractured it.

He is then seen being helped by several surfers and lifeguards until he is taken to the hospital.

Joaquin's friends, who first shared bank accounts and PayPal, created a GoFundMe in which they seek to raise $100.000.

Joaquin is the fourth professional surfer to be injured at Pipe this year along with Joao Chumbinho Chianca, Eimeo Czermak and Bettylou Sakura Johnson.

 

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A post shared by Sebastian Gomez Del Castillo (@sebastiangomezdc)