Pascale Honore, a 50-year-old paraplegic woman, has fulfilled the dream of surfing waves for the first time in her life.
Sweet dreams are made of this. Ocean and waves are passions for many, but Pascale Honore wanted to go further. Eighteen years ago, a car accident left her paralyzed with a T4 spinal cord injury.
"I just remember waking up with the guy's head above me, and he said, 'You've had a car accident, and you'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life,'" she said.
All she could do was watch her sons Tom and Morgan riding their waves. Nevertheless, the wheelchair-bound paraplegic never lost the dream of hitting the surf, and the time has come.
With the help of Tyron Swan, 23, and a roll of duct tape around her shoulders, waist, and legs, Pascale went surfing.
"We were just sitting around one night having a few beers when I though 'yeah, I reckon I could surf with Pascale on my back'", explains Swan, a professional diver.
The process isn't easy, but far from impossible. Honore slips herself into a backpack, with leg holes cut in the bottom. Then, she's lifted on to Swan's back and tape is applied to both wave riders.
The Paris-born got her first wave in Elliston, South Australia, and is already planning a surf trip to the Western Australia coast, where she will be towed into big waves.
"It was the most exciting experience of my life. Having spent the last 18 years sitting. I'll never forget this feeling," Pascal Honore explained.