We are excited for you all to meet a special little girl who was Cara’s inspiration to get involved with AccesSurf. When Cara saw a poster for AccesSurf over nine years ago she thought of her niece Shayne back home in Eastern Canada. Every ‘Day at the Beach’ since then she thinks of Shayne and what it would be like to have her experience AccesSurf.
Shayne was born with Cerebral Palsy in 2007. Over the past 10 years they have been through countless doctors visits, hospital stays, surgeries and many sleepless nights of worry and concern for Shayne’s health. Through all of this they have also been dreaming of day that she could feel the healing power of the ocean. Traveling to Hawaii and attending AccesSurf seemed an unattainable dream, but Make A Wish made it a reality this past weekend.
The first time Shayne experienced being the water was when she was around three years old at our family lake cottage. When she began to kick we couldn’t believe it. That was the first time she had shown movement… We knew then that water was her thing.
For the past nine years we have been following Cara through AccesSurf, dreaming of a day that Shayne could have that experience. We really did not think that could ever happen because of her medical needs. Then one day our family support worker asked if she could submit Shayne for a Make A Wish. To our complete shock we received the news that Shayne’s wish to go to AccesSurf would come true! As we prepared for the last several months for this trip there were times that we questioned if we were making the right decision to travel so far from Shayne’s doctors and if this would really be a good trip for her with so much travel. Through those doubts this process made me feel empowered because I realized that we really can do things like this.
The overwhelming emotion of love watching our daughter swim AND surf with AccesSurf is a dream come true for our family here and at home. We will never forget this awesome experience. AccesSurf made us feel like family. We felt so safe and comfortable even though these were people we had just met. There were not any more concerns seeing how it was all done and that she was in good hands. Shayne deserves this chance to do the things that other people do. Next on the list is tobogganing! Thank you Make A Wish and AccesSurf for showing us love and compassion but also giving us a chance to see our potential and that we can overcome what we always thought were boundaries.
What I learned about Aloha and Ohana is incredible. I always thought Aloha was just an expression but its so much more, it’s a feeling.”
– Angie, Shayne’s Mom
