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Changed Spirits – Testimonials from participants and volunteers
Loving Support
When we first moved here to Hawaii my son, would hardly go into the water. He was absolutely terrified; this was a symptom of his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Due to the AccesSurf Program and its many wonderful volunteers, he now surfs at competition levels and has very little fear of the water. All this in just one year’s time! His Dr. is amazed by the progress he has made! He feels the progress my son has made is because of his participation with the Access Surf Program. The Access Surf Program gave him the loving support and skills he needed to conquer one of his biggest fears, the ocean! Because he was able to face his fears, he has gained such self-confidence and empowerment his fears and anxieties no longer control his life! It is such a therapeutic healing experience to be part of this program. We are so thankful and feel so blessed to have all of these amazing people, the volunteers, be a part of our lives. Because of them I can now watch my son up on his board smiling, laughing, carefree, having the time of his life and for that moment, in this Mothers heart, the world is a perfect place. What a beautiful gift! Thank you!
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AccesSurf, THANK YOU!
You guys brought so many smiles into the life of our family! Both of my boys (one has autism, one just a lot of energy) absolutely love spending the day with you! It is hard to find words to describe the wonderful atmosphere you guys have created. But to stand on the beach and watch the kids riding waves smiling from ear to ear truly is priceless.I know that in your hands they are 100% safe, so I can actually hang out on the beach and talk to my friends. When does that ever happen to parents of special needs kids? I've always wondered what the "spirit of ALOHA really meant...now I know, it never seems to leave the AccesSurf sites, and we are very grateful for it. What you do means so much to so many! Thank you!
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The Power of Confidence
Prior to starting with AccesSurf (our son) was terrified of the ocean and had little to do with it. We are so very grateful for Access Surf's contribution with helping our son heal from all of the terrible anxiety and fears that were controlling his life. It has given him the confidence to face each fear, one by one and regain his life back. His Doctor has noticed huge and significant improvements that are attributed directly to learning how to surf. All of you guys are such kind-hearted people who give so much. You are truly an inspiration to my family each and everyday and are excellent role models for our children to see.
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Joy of the Ocean
My daughter participates in Hawaii's AccesSurf events. In January of 2008, she had brain surgery with the goal of curing her intractable epileptic seizures. She had requested this surgery so that she could return to swimming, a sport she had once loved. Her brain did not respond well to the insertion of a grid map to locate the source of her seizures, and instead of a cure, she ended up with a venous infarce, very much like a stroke. Her left side became partially paralyzed. She was referred to Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, where we learned about AccesSurf. It was with great joy that my daughter returned to the water with AccesSurf. In August she had an epileptic seizure while in the water and the AccesSurf crew immediately surrounded her and carried her to the shore, where her Rehab hospital physician was waiting to assist her. This was the event I feared most, and the AccesSurf crew came through with flying colors. My daughter now tandem surfs and has the joy of being in the water for a day each month. We are grateful to the AccesSurf staff and volunteers for bringing such joy into our daughter's life.
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Doing Things we Love
After losing my legs in 2005 I figured my surfing days were over. Back to boring beach vacations! But the wave ski opens all of this up again. Thanks so much for giving me, and many other people, the ability to get back to doing the things that we love.
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Tears of Joy
Fantastic shots! Put tears of joy in my heart. Being a doctor of the body is one thing, but, if I may say so, you're also a doctor of the heart and soul. Mahalo NUI.
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Daddy, Daddy, Surfing
I have tried for 4 years and 25 days to get my son past the shore break on aboard with me....... Thanks to Mark ….. We surfed together ….. On our last wave my (autistic) son got to his feet... Looked back at me and said "DADDY DADDY SURFING"
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Considering Turning Pro
I can’t thank you all enough for showing my [four-year-old, autistic] son, Kai, such a great time on a surfboard at your last event; he’s now considering turning pro! ……. What a wonderful thing you are doing to spread that enjoyment to those who otherwise would be relegated to just watching others play in the ocean. It was heartwarming to see so many people with various physical challenges paddling around.
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The Last time I was on a board was in '76
Thanks for another fabulous day at the beach. The last time I was on a board was in '76 - the year I quit surfing...both North and South Shores. Good gracious, it has been too many years. It took someone like you to get me back in the water again.
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Our Quality of Life Matters
Though we live a stone's throw from the beach, we rarely go since it is difficult to get my son to the beach without extra help. … I thank you very much for supporting this! It means a lot that people like us have not been forgotten and that the quality of our lives matter.
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It makes me Feel so Happy to Belong
I want to thank all of you at Access Surf Hawaii for everything. I really love going kayaking; Anthony helped me paddle and guided the kayak. All of the volunteers are so nice to me by making me feel happy that I want to see everyone again. It makes me feel so happy to belong. I look forward to being able to continue coming to Access Surf Hawaii. It would be too hard for me to be able to do all of these things without your help.
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Bam!
Everyone was great, so friendly! Our daughter was able to get an experience that quite a few don’t ever take advantage of in their lifetime. For me, that is kind of like a “bam” moment. We as parents, run into folks in our lives, that don’t get our children. When we encounter an experience like this for our kids, it sort of boosts our esteem to say “bam” nay sayers our kids have a place in this world too!
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glowing with excitement
I just wanted to say that we had an awesome time out there a couple weeks ago surfing. My wife was just glowing with excitement after her experience since it has been about 17 years since she's had the chance to surf. Just as you and I get depressed with our daily lives, well so does someone like my wife with her handicap. Life can be a chore sometimes. But on that day, She had told me with vigor that participating in the surfing made her happy to be alive. Awesome words that make life worth living for all of us. Keep up the great work!
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