I got a phone call late in the afternoon from a client who wanted a surf lesson for himself and his family however he mentioned he was an amputee from his knee down. I was actually excited to have the opportunity to help a wounded vet to learn how to surf. We give a lot of surf lesson at Sunset Surf however its these lessons that you will always remember and it really makes an impression on your soul.
At first John was running around trying on different prosthetics and figuring out a way to keep water from entering his leg. You could tell he was excited and wanted to get everything right from the angle of his foot to the flexibility of the knee just perfect in order to make his first go at surfing the most successful as possible.
We’ll I don’t know whether the bolts and screws he turned and tightened did the trick however he was up and riding and having a blast. You could tell that he wasn’t thinking of anything at that moment he got up to his feet, just the task at hand to stay on his feet and surf until the beach. I lost myself in the moment and I’m sure John did as well because before we knew it 2 hours had passed and it was time to hit the beach, cut up some fruit, and drink some water.
Jossue Venegas and my self Dylan Park both got the opportunity to teach a true “HERO,” navy pilot, and amputee how to feel like a kid again playing in the ocean! We can’t thank John enough for giving us an experience like this and we know from what we saw those two days surfing that this will be an experience that he won’t forget soon! If you or a loved one would like to try and surf and is worried about some type of disability just drop us an email and we would love to help you out!