We at Costa Rica Vacations learned about Dean Bushby last year and we are so glad we did. Our Tamarindo surf school affiliate, Salty Sols, had been carrying on a conversation with the 51-year-old Leeds, UK amputee for about a year. The discussion was how to get Bushby, who lost the lower half of his left leg 15 years ago in a motorcycle accident, up and surfing on a board.

According to Salty Sol’s owner Eric Atkinson, the first step was getting a prosthetic that could be used in the water. Bushy had the apparatus made, and also commissioned a knee board, whereby the idea was for him to surf on his knees.

Costa Rica Vacations was very eager to help Bushby attain his surfing goals. As a result, we provided him with a complimentary trip to Costa Rica, and a two-week stay at the Best Western Tamarindo Vista Villas. Atkinson donated the lessons to the cause, as did one of our long-term clients, Larry Larson, who assisted.

“A year ago I visited Tamarindo, and where I stayed there was a girl who surfed, and I thought it was great,” Bushby recalls. “So, I tried it, laying on the board with no prosthetic. That was the first time I was in the ocean for 15 years. I met Eric and we started talking about how I could surf. The first thing I went back and got fitted for a prosthetic I could use in the water. When I returned I was going to use the knee-board I had made but we decided it would be better and more stable if I went ahead and tried to stand up instead.”

As a result, Bushby took Atkinson’s direction and decided to “go for it” on a 10’ soft-top surfboard in the Tamarindo bay. At first, he used his normal foot in back and the prosthetic in front, but soon the duo realized it was better to reverse it and subject the prosthetic to the least amount of movement.   Soon he was standing up and riding waves as seen in the accompanying photos. Wave after wave, he made it up and into shore.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “I never would have dreamed of being able to surf. This was brand new to Eric and me, both of us. The feeling is amazing. I just kept doing it working towards my goal of one day surfing without Eric out there.”

Upon return to Leeds, Bushby planned to do workouts with both his legs, to make them stronger for the next time he does get to surf. In addition, he and Atkinson have plans for a custom surfboard to be made right in Tamarindo, with the hope that the new surfer can return and try it out.  There was also talk of about Bushby maybe one day surfing on the North Yorkshire coast of England with that board.

“This trip was pretty life changing,” concluded Bushby.

Eric Atkinson, Dean Bushby and Larry Larson. PH: Karla Rowlings