Surfing star comes out of coma

Timmy Turner, famous for film ‘Second Thoughts,’ is expected to recover from life-threatening staph infection. He’s a survivor. After nearly two weeks in a coma, one of Huntington Beach’s greatest surfers is expected to recover from a life-threatening staph infection.

Timmy Turner, the 23-year-old Huntington Beach High graduate who redefined the genre of “feral surfing,” is making a slow recovery after two intensive brain surgeries this week. Just out of an induced coma, Turner went under the knife for a second time Monday after doctors removed a small piece of his skull to allow his brain to partially swell without damage, his wife Jessica Turner said.

His regaining of consciousness has paved the way for a likely recovery, she said, although it remains unclear if he’ll be able to surf again.

“He’s had two very big operations and hopefully it will be all uphill from here,” Jessica Turner said.

The news of Turner’s condition has sent shockwaves through the Orange County surfing community, and hospital staff members have had a difficult time accommodating the hundreds of people who have come to visit Turner. Former surfing coach Andy Verdone said Turner’s ailment traces back to a recent surfing trip to Indonesia.

While overseas, Turner is believed to have fallen on an ocean reef and cut himself. That injury later became infected, but it wasn’t until Turner took a second trip, this time to Mexico, that he realized how serious his injuries were.

Upon returning to the U.S., Turner was admitted to Hoag Hospital, where an MRI determined that Turner was suffering from a bad staph infection that was heading for his brain. Hoping to stave off any possible brain damage, doctors induced a coma in the hope of slowing the infection.

Verdone says Turner’s status is still day-to-day, and his family and friends remain optimistic that he will recover.

“He’s hard-core and he’s what epitomizes the spirit of surfing,” said Verdone. “We’re all praying for him -- from the young grom working the counter at the Sugar Shack to the seasoned veteran at the Cliffs.”

Sponsored by surfing giants Huntington Surf and Sport and Quiksilver, Turner is most famous for his 2004 film “Second Thoughts,” which chronicled his trip to remote islands of Indonesia with friends Brett Schwartz and Travis Potter in the pursuit of the area’s long, incredibly shallow tube rides. Part “Endless Summer,” part “Lord of the Rings,” “Second Thoughts” captured Turner’s determination to survive the surreal journey -- by sacrificing goats, avoiding hungry tigers and begging local fisherman for fresh water.

The movie drew critical acclaim and was voted Video of the Year by Surfer magazine.

“That movie blew people’s minds,” said Dave Carlos of Big Red Productions. “It showed that you can still go out there and find the perfect wave. People are still talking about it.”

Turners is a scion of what Verdone calls the “first family of Huntington Beach.” Tim Turner, his father, is the head of beach maintenance for the city, while his mother, Michelle Turner, owns and operates the legendary Sugar Shack diner on Main Street. With the help of his mother, Timmy Turner recently completed his fourth movie, a chronicle of their relief work in Indonesia. It is titled “Tsunami Diaries.”

Timmy and Jessica Turner have two young daughters.

Jessica Turner is providing updates on her husband’s condition at his website, www.timmyturner.org.20060105hw4zgckfMARK C. DUSTIN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Timmy Turner, prominent local surfer and star of the film “Second Thoughts,” is recovering from a life-threatening staph infection.