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Community Corner

Injured Surfers Get Back on Boards

Participants ride the waves at El Porto with the help of volunteers from the Life Rolls On Foundation.

Jesse Billauer was 17 years old and headed for a professional surfing career when a surfing accident severed his spinal cord.

That experience inspired him to create the Life Rolls On Foundation, which encourages people with spinal cord injuries to participate in action sports.

On Sunday about 30 surfers did just that, gathering at El Porto in Manhattan Beach for They Will Surf Again, an annual event hosted by the foundation.

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"We hope that each of our surfers and volunteers feels more hopeful and inspired after participating in our program," Billauer said.

Surfers worked with teams of up to a dozen volunteers who outfitted them with wetsuits and rash guards before wheeling them down a wooden platform along the sand. The surfers were then transferred to custom-built wheelchairs used to transport them to the water.

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Out in the surf, the teams helped the participants lie down on the boards. One team member would then hold onto the board from the back and ride the waves to shore with the surfer.

On the beach, a cheering crowd welcomed each surfer back to land.

For many participants, Sunday's event was their first time out since they'd been injured.

"I'm scared, I'm nervous, but I'm really excited," said one surfer, who was paralyzed after a snowboarding accident years ago. He said some friends told him about Life Rolls On, a division of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, and he thought he'd give it a try. "They do such a great job, I figured I'd come down."

Another participant had been coming to the event for years. The volunteer working with him was excited to see him back and eager to get in the water.

"He's been out here for years," the volunteer said. "He could probably teach us a thing or two."

The volunteers get as much out of the event as the participants, said Kris Nakamura, executive director and CEO of Life Rolls On.

"It's a very inspiring, fun day for everyone," Nakamura said. "It just shows you can do anything."

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