To some people, surfing is a way of life. From birth, they are taught that the ocean is a resource, a place of healing, and something you never turn your back on. The lives of most surfers consists of traveling around the world in search of the perfect waves. They have built careers from it. Without the ocean, their lives would be incomplete. To cystic fibrosis patients, the ocean is something entirely different, it is a way to prolong their lives. For years, researchers have explored the connection between Cystic Fibrosis and the ocean. It was noted that in Australia, kids with Cystic Fibrosis who surfed all the time had better lung functions then the kids who where not in the ocean on a regular basis. They attributed this to the fact that the oceans high content of saline helps expel the secretions from the lungs. In 2007, brothers, James and Charles Dunlop read an article about this connection. Being life long surfers themselves, decided to do something about it. It started first as just a simple idea: Get kids with cystic fibrosis surfing. What resulted was something incredible. Cystic fibrosis patients have to schedule their lives around hours of breathing treatments, chest therapy, and about 45 pills a day in order to stay healthy. Surfing is the one treatment that has proven to help cystic fibrosis patients more than ever. The oceans high content of saline acts as a natural lubricant which clears their lungs and makes breathing easier.
