Since February 2013 Bella has been gracing us with her beautiful smile as an active participant with AccesSurf. Her mother Crystal shares her story with us…
Bella was born in 2009, after missing her first year milestones she had an MRI and it was determined that her brain had not fully developed while I was pregnant. She was later diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. When the doctors told us that Bella would most likely never walk we chose to do what we could to place no limits and encourage the mind set of being limitless. Our family believes that every single person has some kind of challenge in their life but they do not have to define who you are.”
The first time I brought Isabella to Day at the Beach, I was literally scared out of mind. Even when the volunteers told me she would be fine I still sat and watched as my baby girl who was only three years old was placed on the board and swept away. I stood in the water as the volunteer paddled her out never taking my eyes off of her. When they finally turned around all I could hear was her laughter, I instantly cried at this beautiful sight.
When she was carried out of the water she had the biggest smile and couldn’t stop. It was contagious. She was hooked. When my baby girl was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy we never thought that surfing in the ocean off an island in Hawai’i could ever become a reality.
In the following months I started to volunteer. I couldn’t help myself to want to be a part of such an amazing program. AccesSurf lets people with a couple more challenges then the rest of us experience the ocean in a way that lets you be able to breath again. Now more than two years later Isabella walks from the truck to the beach in her walker with a huge smile on her face, never stopping and thinking that she’s different, just waiting in anticipation for that next wave. Just ask her and she will be more than happy to tell you.”
