Anchors Away

A lively group sits in beach chairs in the shade while watching the waves gently lap the sand. Smiles can be seen — roaring boat engines, music and laughter heard.

A relaxing, good time is being had by all on a sunny afternoon at Lion’s Beach on Lake Moultrie.

A megaphone blasts cheerful words of encouragement to a beaming Andria Cole as she makes her way back to shore with assistance from a group of lifejacket-clad physical therapists.

Cole, who lives in Hanahan, has just ridden on a personal watercraft for the first time in 10 years. She has Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare disorder where the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system, and has been paralyzed since 2002.

Hospitalized for 13 months and on a ventilator for 10, she says a disconnection set in after the then 21-year-old lost the ability to walk. She had been an avid waterskier prior to contracting the disorder and was trying to regain some semblance of her former life.

“I was hating the summer. The beach was no fun anymore because I couldn’t participate.”

About four years ago, she discovered Anchors Away and began to get out, meet new people and get back on the water again.

“I was so thrilled because I was finally getting a piece of my life back.”

The Medical University of South Carolina established the Anchors Away program in 1993. It provides recreational water sport experiences to people of all ages with disabilities.

The program not only offers fun experiences but also fosters peer counseling, therapeutic and strength conditioning — and a boost of self-esteem that is carried into other areas of the participants’ lives, including their careers and social lives.

Founder David Sewell, an instructor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina, started the program after many patients at MUSC told him the thing they missed the most were their boats. The sentiment sunk in for Sewell, and seed money provided by the Department of Education gave him and others the opportunity to establish the program.

“This is something that’s forgotten about,” Sewell says. “Doctors get them through the medical part, the rehabilitation, and then discharge them. This is a program they can latch onto and get support from after they are discharged.”

The group often collaborates with Achieving Wheelchair Equality/Lowcountry Wheelchair Sports, an organization that helps wheelchair users and others with mobility problems overcome the unique obstacles they face with employment, community, family and recreation.

Other components of the program include sailing, canoeing, kayaking, harbor cruises, school trips and a fishing team that competes in tournaments. Anchors Away aims to provide three ski clinics per year, which require 25 to 30 volunteers who do everything from driving the boats to dishing out lunch.

A lot of work goes into one ski experience, Sewell says. Specialty equipment must be assembled, checked and double-checked. Safety releases are installed on the boats, which allow a volunteer to release the rope so the skier doesn’t get dragged or entangled.

Lifeguards are in place.

Personal watercraft rescue vessels follow closely behind to provide a rapid response as soon as the skier goes in the water.

“All of us are working together to ensure the skier has a safe and rewarding experience,” Sewell says.

Why do they do it? For the smiles.

“Especially the first time they ski. They have a great first run. You can see it on their faces — and for the family to tell us this is opening doors for them. And they want to do it again.”

Sewell says at first new skiers often are intimidated by the water, but by the end of the weekend they’re up skiing on their own.

Cole says she is happy to have become a part of the Anchors Away program. She’s met people she otherwise never would have met and can relate to others who are wheelchair-bound.

“People look at us differently and treat us differently, even though we are just like them.”

Cole is appreciative of all of the experiences she’s been given by the people involved with Anchors Away.

“I’m grateful for all of the sponsors and volunteers that donate their time and money and equipment for us to do this, because without them, it wouldn’t happen.”

She recommends other people become a part of the program.

“It’s scary to try new things, but this made such a big difference in my life.”

For more information about Anchors Away, visit www.anchorsawayprogram.org. For Achieving Wheelchair Equality/Lowcountry Wheelchair Sports, visit www.awelws.org.