HHSA Volunteers Help Adaptive Surfers Catch a Wave

From left: Nancy Washwell, Vanessa Stringham, Paul Katsaros, an unidentified friend and Marianne Hanover at the Life Rolls On surfing event. Washwell, Stringham, Katsaros and Hanover all work for HHSA California Children Services and volunteered at the event that helps people with spinal cord injuries experience surfing in the ocean.

La Jolla Shores was awash in color as approximately 500 volunteers clad in a rainbow of rash guards took to the waters to help people with spinal cord injuries have a chance to surf the waves.

“It was just amazing to stand in the water and see the sea of different colors,” said Nancy Washwell, an occupational therapist with HHSA’s California Children Services and one of the volunteers.

Washwell, Vanessa Stringham and Paul Katsaros from the CCS Vista Medical Therapy Unit and Marianne Hanover from the Escondido branch spent approximately seven to eight hours in the water this past Saturday so 117 people with physical limitations could experience surfing in the Pacific Ocean.

The volunteers were assigned to teams of 20 with each group wearing a different colored rash guard. Every team member concentrated on making the event special for participants one at a time.

“They emphasize that for each person, you were there just for them (when it was their time in the water),” said Washwell.

Team members had roles assigned from getting the person onto specialized wheelchairs that could operate on the sand and in the water to those who helped get the surfers on adaptive boards and out into the water.

Washwell was stationed in the shallow water helping participants return to the beach.

“It was so cool for the surfers and family members,” she said. “We would all shout their name really loud when they came back in from the water and all 20 team members would gather around them for a photo.

“They were like rock stars and with all the hooting and hollering and high fives, it was just amazing.”

Family members were very appreciative and were constantly snapping photos for keepsakes.

Some of the surfers were clients that Washwell and the other therapists see on a regular basis through CCS, but most of the participants were people they were able to work with for the first time.

There were little kids as young as 3 and 4 years old all the way up to adults in their mid-50s according to Washwell. One woman came all the way from Kentucky to experience surfing in the ocean.

The event was part of the Get On Board Tour put on by the Life Rolls On organization. Life Rolls On was founded by quadriplegic surfer Jesse Billauer and hosts surfing events on both the east and west coasts.

They are hosting the International Surfing Association World Adaptive Surfing Championships at La Jolla Shores Sept. 24 -27.

“I had so much fun I signed up to volunteer at the world championships, too,” said Washwell. “There were just so many smiles, thank yous and a lot of love and working together I wanted to do it again.”

Volunteers cheer as one of the participants hits the surf. The event allowed people with spinal cord injuries the opportunity to surf at LaJolla Shores.