The aunt of Sgt. Ian Parkinson, U.S. Army, (Ret.) lived in Honolulu and heard about Sea Inspiration. She reached out to see if we could coordinate some Hawaiian healing adventures for her nephew during his visit to the islands.

In his home state of Arizona, Ian had re-mastered his beloved sport of skateboarding with specially designed prosthetics. This amazing feat earned him the nickname Sergeant Stubbs. And recently, Ian had been expressing the desire to learn to surf!

The Sea Inspiration team and partners got to work and planned some Hawaiian adventures for him to choose from.

Ryan Chananovich from “Access Surf” was on board, literally, to teach Ian about surfing and how to adapt with his prosthesis to the new challenge of surfing. Sea Inspiration Advisory Board Member Colonel John Bates showed up to give Ian some words of encouragement. Ian’s prosthetics were too cumbersome, so they were sent back to shore while Ian learned to balance without them on the surfboard as he took to the waves.

Richard Holland, owner of “Dolphins and You,” and his amazing crew hosted Ian, his mother, aunt and Colonel Bates for a wild dolphin adventure where Ray filmed Ian swimming in pristine ocean conditions teaming with an abundance of sea life. Hawaiian green sea turtles, tropical fish, and even wild spinner dolphins showed up to the party!

Excited for even more challenging adventures, Ian signed up to tandem skydive with our friends at “Skydive Hawaii” thanks to our Military Spokesman and aerial cameraman, Colonel John Bates, USMC, (Retired). Ian’s tandem jump was a great success and all the action was caught on camera thanks to additional aerial camera coverage by pro skydiver, Mark Cook, and Sea Inspiration Founder Ray Hollowell who stayed in the safe zone……..the ground!

Ian’s enthusiasm, bravery, positive attitude, and friendliness were astounding. We were honored to be in his presence and to provide these positive, spirit-lifting Healing Adventures.

Want to be encouraged even more? Please visit our Healing Adventures page and enjoy seeing many more US military service people helped by Sea Inspiration.