First off I am glad you have recovered however let me take a second to help you put the pieces together.
You went out on a day you should not have been out in, PERIOD! I woke up, checked the radar and quickly proceeded to find an alternate plan for the day (something you should try next time). Note, I rode the day before the incident and the day after, both keeping a SHARP eye on the surrounding conditions, putting it down way before ANY dark lines came in. There were many of us that were upset at the bad publicity created by your event, but I and many others held are tongue and hoped for a full recovery. But to see this after the recovery
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5647429&page=1 "the 28-year-old said he would "definitely" go kite-boarding during a tropical storm again" and have people come up to me and ask "Are all kiters that ****ing stupid". That strait up pissed me off, however I am glad to here all your stupidity in front of the camera paid for your medical bills. Make sure you call ABC before you head out in the next storm so they can get even better footage, maybe even multiple angles.
Come on man, You had a chance to publicly explain the sport and how normally it is much safer sport and you made a STUPID mistake by going out on that day. But know rather than try to get some respect back from the Kiteboarding community you look like a complete ass and try to justify your actions? I should have come in a bit earlier and I regret it a little bit is all you had to say? Not I should not have been out at all that day. Not that you should have understood and practiced the safety system more and activated it instantly rather than hang on the bar (both before and after the first hit on the sand). Nope you are gonna say "I'm hardcore, I'll do it again" and make us all look like asses.
And now you start talking about the possibly of it being the KITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Come on man; just admit you make a stupid mistake. You have done more than enough to make the sport look bad lets not start blaming kites, imagine if you were on a 04 C kite?
This sport has come a long way and you set it back, good job man, next time a camera is on you say something smart are just STFU and please do not start trying to justify things on the forums. So here is the official breakdown
You = Stubborn Unsafe Dumbass
Tropical Storm = Violent Low Pressure System Capable of throwing violent gusts
You + Tropical Storm = Massive Injury or Death
Go out in conditions you can handle, and the middle of a tropical storm is a place where no one should be, There were almost NO gaps in the bands that day, and with the constant cloud cover it makes bands VERY hard to see... until it is too late.
Sorry for the rant, it is the follow up on ABC that really got under my skin... and now to see you bring up the kite..... Man you got balls. Just want you to know that EVERYONE the saw the follow-up thought you looked like a ****ing idiot, that is not just how I viewed it.