Wounded Warriors surf at New Smyrna Beach
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - Saturday morning in New Smyrna Beach there was a group of people who seemed to be getting ordinary surfing lessons, but those surfers had overcome extraordinary odds to be there.
They were a group of wounded veterans like Phillip Adkinson. His injury in Iraq affected his motor skills, making it hard to walk and stay balanced.
"I can't run that fast," Adkinson said, "I gained a lot of weight because my metabolism has slowed way down."
That morning he proved to himself that, with some help, he could take to the waves.
Wounded veteran Nathaniel Heath-Price was there with his mother, Stacey Hawley. This was his second time surfing with the non-profit Wounded Warrior Project and the Oceans of Hope Foundation.
"He's 82nd Airborne, so he jumps out of airplanes, so he's used to that adrenaline rush and I think coming in on the waves, falling and crashing, it gave him that adrenaline rush of I'm still alive, I'm still here, I still can do things," Hawley said.
There were 12 wounded warriors in the water, on Saturday. Organizers said the experience often teaches them that they're capable of more than they think.
"What it helps do is hopefully give them the ability to maybe do this on their own, or with their family. That's our ultimate goal, to give them something to do to get them out," said Mike Recicar, with the Oceans of Hope Foundation.
Oceans of Hope started in 2014 with ten volunteers helping six surfers. Now they work several times a year with groups like the Wounded Warrior Project, and more than a hundred volunteers.
"Being able to come out, build comradery with other warriors and be able to just be in the community engaging is super-important for their mental health," said Kalen Schou, with the Wounded Warrior Project, "as well as their physical health and wellness, as well."