Over winter break I took a surf vacation with some friends. Three of them are in wheelchairs, two are quadriplegic. The trip was the inaugural event of The Oceans Healing Group, a new 501C3 organization of which I am a board member. The groups mission is to facilitate action-sports vacations for paraplegics and their families. This entails covering the costs of the vacations (these families are almost always crushed by medical expenses), and providing an expert volunteer force for each trip to facilitate travel and the adaptive sports.
This first trip, we took Patrick, who is 14 and has been quadriplegic since a car ran him over at age 2, and Jake, 21, who has a rare form of ataxia (a nervous system dysfunction) that renders him quadriplegic. Christiaan Bailey, a professional parasurfer came along to oversee things and be a role model. We took the boys to Shaka Surf Camp on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula for a week. Shaka is a for-profit surf camp that regularly donates time and effort to nonprofit adaptive healing programs. (It’s also a great place to stay on vacation).
Patrick’s mother and sister came along, as did both of Jake’s parents. We had the opportunity to work on the boys’ surfboard control using custom-modified boards on a deserted beach. The length of the trip allowed us to work on their actual surfing skills rather than just push them into foamball-waves like a carnival ride (which is how they started). We were also able to supervise the boys and keep them busy enough that their parents got a little time off, which is a rarity with a quadriplegic child. We sent Jake’s folks out for a second honeymoon one night, and Patrick’s mom got a beach-day-and-shopping-with-the-girls break, plus ample opportunity to play with her son in the water.
It takes at least 8 volunteers to surf these guys. Functioning quadriplegics like these lie face down on a surfboard, propped up on their upper arms, with their elbows in custom foam cups or friction pads on the board. Typically two of us swim them out through the break and wait for a good wave (not too big, “peeling” from one direction). When one comes along, we push the surfer into the wave, trailing on the board’s tail for a moment to be sure the “take-off” is successful. From this point, the parasurfer is on his or her own, steering with whatever mobility they have in their shoulders and head. Three people work “mid,” in the impact zone. Their job is to be present in case of a wipeout as the wave breaks (quadriplegics do not swim well and can have difficulty turning over when facedown in the water). The remaining volunteers work the shallows and the beach to catch surfer and board in the case of a long ride (or a separate arrival). In the warm waters of Costa Rica, we were able to surf the boys at least once per day, for sessions lasting over an hour each. This is taxing work for the volunteers, particularly in large surf, but we got to watch Jake and Patrick learn to surf and to control the board on their own, carving, riding down the line, and getting a little face time. Added to the days in camp with them - napping, eating, playing monopoly, afternoon snorkeling, etc, - the trip was an uplifting experience. Spending a lot of time with quadriplegics makes one acutely grateful for the basics of life, and puts the rigors and stress of business school into a sane perspective.
There are opportunities to help with adaptive surfing events here in the US through an organization called Life Rolls On. My friends at school and I are organizing a West Coast MBA surf Competition through the UCLA Anderson Surf Club and Anderson NetImpact that will benefit adaptive surfing charities.
Oceans Healing Group is in its nascence, and could use your support through financial or in-kind contributions.
Check out:
www.myspace.com/oceanshealing ,
www.liferollson.org , and
www.shakacostarica.com for more information and ways to get involved.
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