Covid - A Love Story

 

 Maria and Drew Brophy's Miracle

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

 

They say that love can move mountains. Love conquers all. Little did Maria Brophy know that one day she was going to need that superpower to save the life of her husband, famed surf artist Drew Brophy.

 

 

But then, Covid hit and she needed all her strength to help Drew survive a relentless case of Covid that knocked him flat in November 2021, putting him in the ICU.

 

"It's an insidious disease that goes after your weaknesses," Maria writes in her memoir, Covid – A Love Story. For Drew, "It went straight for his lungs. those beautiful organs that he had relied on for big wave surfing." Now, struck by the disease, he could barely breathe. 

 

 

And Maria, barred by a security guard from entering the hospital, couldn't even get in to see him.  

 

Not knowing which medical advice to trust or which drugs to try, Maria researched everything and drew on her faith to guide her. Then on Thanksgiving Day, when Drew could no longer breathe on his own, only one option was left – the ventilator. "This was the moment when part of my soul left me," Maria says, knowing that Drew might not wake up from the induced coma he would be put into for the ventilation procedure. 

 

 

 With so many things she wanted to say to Drew on their last phone call that day – “How badly I needed him...How I physically hurt, knowing he was suffering...to show him my soul...my deepest feelings" – instead, "all I could say was, 'I love you' over and over again." And Drew, in a deliberate voice trying to mask how weak he was, said, "I'm going to beat this."

 

As the days went by, family, friends and the SoCal surfing community came together bringing Maria food, helping at their art gallery, giving support, donating to GoFundMe, and saying prayers. It would all be needed, especially on "Ventilator Day 9" when the doctor asked Maria's permission to turn off the ventilator that was keeping Drew alive. She said, “No.”

 

 

Months passed and there were many twists and turns, an out-of-body experience, the quest to get on a life-saving experimental drug, disagreements over treatment, steps forward and backward, people who stood in the way and those who helped.

 

Maria tells it all in her memoir, sharing entries from her daily journal, the moments of despair that she couldn't let herself give into, and the hard-fought battles to get Drew the care he needed in a healthcare system overburdened by the weight of a global pandemic.

 

 

When SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti stopped by the Brophy Gallery recently Maria and Drew told us they don't take anything about his recovery for granted.

 

They’re grateful for all the help they got, positive thoughts and prayers. They couldn't have done it alone and want to give back, helping others to realize their own dreams.

 

 

They believe the love they got from others merged with their own love and generated "a force field so potent that it created a miracle."

 

SurfWriter Girls are hoping for one more miracle. Not just for Maria and Drew, but for everyone – that their Covid love story is made into a movie so we all can share the love. 

    

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

 

Animals Win Our Hearts

 

Books Show Power of Connections

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Human-animal connections create powerful bonds that profoundly change our lives. Anyone who has had a pet knows how it expands our world, leaving paw prints on our heart. SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti discovered two books that will have you cheering for the animal protagonists - Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt, and Cat's People, by Tanya Guerrero. 

In a recent Youtube video Microsoft founder Bill Gates recommended Remarkably Bright Creatures as one of the books to read this winter. Once you meet Marcellus, the wise, curmudgeonly, especially perceptive giant Pacific Octopus at the heart of the book, you'll see why.

Captured as a juvenile, Marcellus, who narrates much of the story, begins the book on Day 1,299 of My Captivity - the same day that 70-year-old cleaning lady Tova Sullivan finds him cowering in the Sowell Bay Aquarium break room, tangled in an electrical cord. How he got out of his tank is a mystery, but Tova manages to free him, thus beginning their unlikely friendship.

Tova is still mourning the loss of her eighteen-year-old son, Erick, who vanished from a boat in Puget Sound over 30 years ago. She is also coming to grips with aging and the passing of friends and family. Talking to Marcellus through the glass panel of his enclosure enables her to open up about her feelings in a way she couldn't before.

 

And Marcellus, who doesn't care much for humans, is finally able to find someone he can bond with. What's more, he soon discovers that, through his powers of deduction and knowledge of the ocean, he may be able to help Tova get the answers she's looking for and overcome her grief.

 

Cat's People shows the power a stray black cat on the streets of Brooklyn has to bring a community together, creating meaningful connections between five strangers and a circle of friends for himself. Told from the points of view of each of his people - and Cat himself - the story shows how small acts of kindness and being open about our feelings can bridge the gaps between us and overcome loneliness. 

 

Cat, with no name or home, has learned how to navigate the city's streets, finding out which people are safe and which to avoid. Spending much of the day hidden in the shade of his favorite hedges, he has a wary friendship with Nuria (Cat calls her "Rainbow Lady"), who brings him food. Also, with Omar, the mailman, who buys him treats at the local bodega, and Bong, a grieving widower who owns the shop.

 

Collin (nicknamed by Cat "Awkward Neighbor Guy"), a successful writer who mostly avoids interacting with people, is drawn into Cat's circle, along with Lily, a young woman who came to New York to find her half-sister. Incomplete by themselves, in coming together Cat and his people all find what they've been missing - family.

 

 

These two books are great reads for the new year, encouraging us to reach out to others, enriching each other's lives and reminding us of the power of kindness.

With special thanks to Patti's sister, Eileen Ferris, who recommended both books to us. A cat person and Goodreads reviewer, Eileen loves books and cats. 

 

  

SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.

 

Surfrider Foundation Friend to Ocean

 

Protecting Oceans, Waves and Beaches

 

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

For over 40 years the non-profit Surfrider Foundation has been protecting the world's oceans, waves and beaches. Started in 1984 by a group of surfers in Malibu, CA, who wanted to clean up their local beach, it has grown to become one of the leading environmental organizations in the world.

 

A strong voice for the ocean, the Surfrider Foundation removed more than 100,000 lbs. of trash from the beach in 2025.   

Its hundreds of chapters and student clubs worldwide are dedicated to making clean, safe beaches accessible to everyone. 

 

In 2026 Surfrider is excited to be closing in on its 1,000th victory of protecting the world's coasts from over-development, pollution, erosion, and other threats.

Volunteers working together participate in beach cleanups, community outreach, environmental education activities, and more.

Surfrider's Blue Water Task Force conducts over 10,000 water quality tests from more than 600 sites nationwide to protect beachgoers from contaminated water.  

 

Through its Ocean Friendly Gardens and Ocean Friendly Restaurants programs it works to conserve water, fight pollution, and practice sustainable food-sourcing and service methods. 

With its volunteers joined together in a powerful activist network, the Surfrider Foundation is more committed than ever to protecting the place it loves – the ocean!  

 SurfWriter Girls

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.