The deep blue sea is a scary place. You never know what you’ll find in the dark waters. For Diana Nyad, terror came in the form of jellyfish.
Nyad kissed her dream of swimming the 103 miles from Cuba to South Florida goodbye after being stung by a jellyfish … multiple times.
According to USA Today, Nyad was pulled from the water after being stung by a Portuguese Man O War. After attempting to re-enter the water the following morning, the 62-year-old woman was stung again.
Doctors told her more jellyfish stings could lead to death. That’s right, folks, death. Apparently sometimes the cure isn’t as simple as pouring vodka, vinegar or urine on the sting. Good to know.
There’s no work on whether Nyad plans on going back to finish the swim. She had completed 49 of the 103-mile trek.
This was Nyad’s second attempt to swim between Cuba and Florida. The first time was back when she was just a 28-year-old young woman who had to call it quits after swimming into a shark cage for 42 hours. You read correctly, a shark cage.
Maybe, just maybe, the jellyfish were a sign form the universe telling Nyad that some things in life, such as swimming in shark-filled waters, are unnecessary.
Or maybe the universe is telling her – and us, for that matter – that there’s no need to visit south Florida.
