“I can’t change it, That was God’s plan for my life and I’m going to go with it.”

Surfing is very special and unique. It’s really hard to explain unless you’ve tried it. It’s being out in the ocean in the sun, the water on your skin, and the adrenalin rush when you catch a wave. You have to be creative so it’s like an art form in a way.

I’m just waiting for God to tell me what to do, but whatever it is, I want to be doing something like I am doing now-serving God and helping people.

Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.

I think it doesn’t matter if you are the best surfer in the world. I’m going to try to be the best surfer I can be. It’s not all about competing and being the best. It’s more about having fun and just doing what you love.

I enjoy hanging out with friends, going on hikes and playing tennis. I also enjoy Bible study and making dinners. I have a pretty mellow life away from the water.

Life is a lot like surfing… When you get caught in the impact zone, you’ve got to just get back up. Because you never know what may be over the next wave.

In the end, my love for surfing helped me overcome my fear of sharks.

There’s no such thing as a handicap – it’s all in your head

Being out there in the ocean, God’s creation, it’s like a gift He has given us to enjoy.

I could never have embraced this many people with two arms.

God created the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the waves for our enjoyment. Surfing is just my way of worshipping Him.

Doing everything with one arm, being well-known, and having a book and a movie, it’s fairly abnormal. As far as just not having to worry about past experiences, I’ve healed very well.

I think passion is something that’s more powerful than even love. It’s something that you’re not willing to let go of, and you’ll work really hard to make sure that stays a part of your life.

The paramedic whispered in my ear ‘God will never leave you or forsake you.’

I don’t really want people looking to me for inspiration. I just want to be a sign along the way that points toward Heaven.

My only real fear was that I would not be able to surf again because I was concerned that I would not physically be able to do it. I knew that if I wasn’t able to surf then my life would really change.

I’m not an advocate for disability issues. Human issues are what interest me.

I think that everyone has something about themselves that they feel is their weakness… their ‘disability.’

For me, I never ever felt the ownership or any identity with any community of disabilities. I didn’t grow up being told that I was a disabled child.

I feel that I’ve lived and see the same evolution in this regard around disability.

People presume my disability has to do with being an amputee, but that’s not the case.

You amputate part of a nose, that’s ‘enhancement’. You put a prosthetic in a breast cavity, that’s ‘augmentation’. But you amputate part of a limb and put a prosthetic there, it’s ‘disability’?

The only true disability is a crushed spirit

Truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I’ve had to confront is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions.