Life Rolls On Foundation's program called "They
Will Surf Again" is an adaptive surf program where people with
disabilities, mostly with spinal cord injury, get the chance to surf! The surf
boards have modified hand grips that allow the participants to hold on and pull
themselves up from the water. Established in 2002, the Life Rolls On Foundation
began as an idea to raise money for spinal cord research and awareness. Jesse, the
creator of the Foundation, hopes to find a cure for paralysis - I don't want to sit and wait around for it
but to go out there and try to enjoy life by still doing the activities you
love. The mission of Life Rolls On
is to provide those with spinal cord injuries unfound joy and freedom from the
constrictions of a wheelchair.
As a future professional in the Acupuncture Industry,
the Life Rolls On video inspires me to make a difference in the lives of those
living with physical disabilities Limited
scientific research has been conducted in the study of how non-traditional
medicine, with the help of therapy, can make a positive difference in someone's
life. Yet the benefits of acupuncture have been touted for centuries – improved
circulatory function, enhanced pain management, and improved daily physical
performance and function. The positive
attitudes that people project towards their physical condition touches my heart;
no matter what life has thrown at them they still find joy and the need to help
others.
I believe it is important to include everyone in physical
activities and sports. No one should ever have to sit on the sideline and be
told that they can’t fully participate. Adapting activities, as shown in the
video, taught me that the impossible is possible. I hope one day I can be a
part of making a difference in someone's life and change the stereotypes that society
holds towards people with disabilities. Anything is possible if your heart and soul
are behind the words you speak – I’m all in!!!
The Video that I have chosen was the Life Rolls On video over paraplegics who are surfing. This video is about the Life Rolls On foundation and how they help ones who are wheelchair bound. I would have never thought of surfing as an activity that ones who are in a wheelchair would be able to do. Surfing is adapted by having handles for the individuals to hold onto while they are surfing. There are also a number of several people in the water to help the individuals once they are thrown off of the surfboard. Activities like this are great for ones with disabilities because it makes them forget about it. One main said even while he was sitting there being interviewed he still was hardly aware that he was in the wheelchair. He also expressed how nice it was to be able to fall off, get water up your nose, and have sand in your face. This foundation is doing great things for those in a wheelchair no matter what their age. This video opened up my eyes to see that there are still a number of activities that ones who are wheelchair bound are able to do.
ReplyDeleteKandace Lowrance
Life Rolls On
ReplyDeleteAs a future professional in the Athletic Performance industry, the video inspired me not only from the fact that I like surfing, but I gave those people with a spinal cord injury a chance to overcome paralysis. I thought it was a great way to make those people feel like they were a part of something. They were doing activities that they loved. Personally from surfing it is a great feeling to be one and one with nature. I could tell that they had plenty of helpers that could aid them when taking off and when wiping out. I noticed they had handles on some boards, and they weren’t throwing them into some super waves with giant swells. Some kids were facing feet forwards on the board. The importance of making the individuals feel free and have fun, I remember one guy saying he forgets he has a disability and none of the other stuff matters. My take-away from this video is that even though these people have a disability they still wanted to accept the wipe out and get back up to do it again. The lesson I take from this is, everybody needs to feel the importance of belonging to something and if surfing is their way of that they are succeeding in life. This activity is great for a paraplegic or quadriplegic to be able to work out even though there are no weights involved.
...Cole Martin
Even dogs can surf, so telling a paraplegic or quadriplegic that they may not is kind of telling them they are more worthless than a dog.
ReplyDeleteIf you have ever surfed it is very evident that half the battle of being able to surf is done while you are on your belly, not even using your legs but majority of your core and some of your arms instead. So it is a perfect workout for a paraplegic in that by itself. Quadriplegics though are only slightly different in that they have no way to paddle out other than that, it is all core strength to stay up on the board and continue upright.
I think this is ingenuous in its simplicity that these people are using something as natural as keeping your balance to enhance one’s core and with no doubt cardio as well. They seem to have taken every precaution remotely applicable with this exercise by using the boarders handicap in being unable to dive waves and get to deeper water, to be able to have rescuers present and close enough that when the do fall off the board they are quickly retrieved.
It just reiterates that anything regular people can do, handicap can do as well with little to no adaptation outside safety precautions. They were all able to use standard boards and I am sure some were able to paddle out father than this homemade video was able to show.
---Turner, Andrew
Watching this video it shows you that life goes on and you should not take pity on yourself for what happened to you. As I enter my profession in teaching/coaching I know it is my job to influence kids to keep trying to do their best even when life throws you a curve ball. Doing the things that you have always done and becoming paralyzed does not mean that life is over. Life isn’t easy, you may fall but only when you stay down is when you can be defeated. Seeing these people surf while being paralyzed is amazing, and it seemed extreme seeing that they would not be able to stand up, but it was possible. The only adaptive element of this activity was the straps that they had on the surf board to help them hang on. These people benefit some much from being included in this activity things like; interacting with each other, and surfing provides a great aerobic workout because it keeps you moving to try to stay afloat. What I take away from this video is that it is possible to do anything that you desire to do regardless of your situation. Life is not perfect and obstacles may come your way but they will only stay there as long as you let them. .... Anthony Dewberry
ReplyDeleteLife Rolls On – Surfing
ReplyDeleteAs a future coach, this video inspired me by showing me that someone can go through such a traumatic accident like a car wreck, have to spend the rest of their life in a wheel chair after being able to live a normal life, and not be depressed and going on with their life. Being paralyzed and getting in the ocean with those waves had to be scary for them, but they stood up to their fears and faced the challenge anyway. The paralyzed surfers were laying down on the surf boards on their stomachs instead of standing up. The surfers said they just forgot about being paralyzed while they were on the water. It is important for these individuals to feel fully included so that they can feel a sense of independence. The lesson I learned from this is that just because someone is paralyzed does not mean that their life is over. They can still lead a fairly normal life with just a few modifications. This will help me as coach to know that any kids I work with, that are paralyzed, still want to feel normal and be a part of regular activities. From watching this video, I think that paralyzed people do not want to be laibled as a disabled person and want to make their own dicisions.
...Lucas Love
As a future professional in the field of coaching, this video inspired me to come up with ways for a person in a wheelchair to be involved in other sports. It inspired me knowing that these people may have had a setback but they are not giving up on life and still doing the things they love to do. It makes me so proud that there are people out there coming up with ways for disabled people to enjoy sports like I do. The surfing was adapted by having the person lie down on the surf board and hold on to straps that were put on the board. Sometimes an expert would ride on the board with the person, but most of the time they were by themselves. They were people at the beginning and end of the wave to help the person start and get off the board. It is important to fully include people with disabilities in sports like these because it gives them something to look forward to and have fun at. Just like me or you enjoying surfing, these people get to feel the rush of catching a wave. These people receive a lot of benefits from doing an activity like this. Emotionally they feel a place to belong and a sense of achievement when they ride a wave. They are also working out there bodies by doing this and doing it by getting out of there wheelchairs. This video was very cool for me to watch and thought it was awesome that there are people still doing what they like to do after the have an accident. I can apply this open mindedness to my job as a coach when a disabled player comes to me to want to compete.
ReplyDeleteWill Mclane
As a future professional in the coaching industry this video inspired me a lot. Just because you have a spinal cord injury doesn’t mean you still can’t surf and do the things you did before. My emotions about this story were good emotions. It really made me realize how blessed I am each day to wake up and not have to deal with a disability. I feel bad for these people, and the crazy thing about it is that they don’t want you to feel bad for them at all. They want you to see they can do the same things you’re doing it just might take a little time. The activity was adapted because they had people helping them on and off the surf board. If they fell off there was a group of people there to catch them when they fell. It’s important to include people with disabilities because you never want anyone to feel left out, or feel like they aren’t wanted just because they have a disability. Disabilities shouldn’t mean anything to anyone they are still human beings they just had something happen in their life that we didn’t have happen. When thety participate with us, they receive multiple benefits. They become stronger mentally and physically, they learn that they can do anything they put their minds too, they benefit from not giving up just because they had something happen to them. I learned that you should never limit someone just because they have a disability. Life goes on after you get injured it’s just the matter of are you going to give up or keep fighting for yourself. In my future job I can apply this by giving people chances and not limiting them just because they have a disability.
ReplyDelete..... Jazmine Green
As a future professional in the fitness industry the video inspired me by showing how happy these people with their respective disabilities are. In the beginning of the video when there were going from person to person describing their injuries and how they got them nobody was really sad or mad about it they had all come to terms with it and learned to live life around the disability. Seeing Quadriplegics and Paraplegics out in the water surfing by THEMSELVES was awesome!! You could see and hear them saying they were scared and nervous before getting in the water and hitting the waves. After they had been in the water an rode a few waves one guy in the end talked about how “you get back in the water and you forget that you’re a quad or paraplegic” he also said it’s a good thing to be back out doing something around other people who are doing the same thing that you are, surfing, and everyone is enjoying it. I feel that this foundation “they will surf again” is awesome because it encourages people with disabilities to be active and continue to have a high level of quality of life instead of allowing their respective handicaps to hold them back. I took away from this video that your attitude about a situation you’re faced with is a huge factor everyone in the video was happy and excited to try surfing out and I didn’t see one person in the video that wasn’t able to have fun despite their disability which really says a lot.
ReplyDelete... nikki mcnorton