In February, we asked Shorelines readers to share memories of a favorite vacation. Over the next few weeks, we’ll print their responses here. Today’s comes from Assistant Vice President Cheri Cicona-Trudell.

Cheri and her husband, in Hawaii, in happier times.

On day one of our Hawaii trip, my husband and I decided to go snorkeling. It seemed like an activity we could do by ourselves. Were we wrong.

We rented a kayak so we could go to the local cove that was supposed to the best snorkeling spot on the island. My husband and I had to paddle it across the cove to an area where the snorkeling was said to be the best. After we beached the kayak, we proceeded to put on our flippers, masks, and — yes — life vests. We then began to attempt to walk into the surf over the lava rocks with flippers on. Not a good idea. My foot slipped between two rocks and I stepped on a sea urchin. Immediately, I fell into the water and was in a complete state of panic. I was confident I’d been bitten by something bad.

As I floundered in two feet of water, my husband attempted to help me up. I was so panicked, he was not able to get me to stand up or even to listen to him. Finally, he just gave up and figured I would realize I was in shallow water and was not going to die, so he turned to walk back to shore. I reached up after him for help and grabbed his swim trunks — pulling them down in the process. About that time, I snapped to and stood up to see him just glaring at me. We paddled the kayak back to the beach in silence. By the time we returned the kayak and snorkel gear and got to the car, he realized I needed to go to the emergency room. Four hours and one small outpatient surgery later, the spines from the sea urchin were removed from my foot. No, we never did try to snorkel again!