Daniel C. W. Riley: August 2011

Welcome

The family and friends of Cpl. Daniel C. W. Riley, USMC, welcome you to join in as we celebrate and support the life of an incredible young man, friend, son, and brother. It is with great love and with many prayers we know that Daniel will move on to great and wonderful things. God has big plans for him! Daniel was born in Victoria, BC, Canada. In 1999 his family (Dad, Mum, brothers Tristan and Aaron, & sister Elizabeth, & cat) moved to Denver, Colorado, where his dad began working for the Episcopal Church in Colorado overseeing work with children, youth, and young adults. Daniel started high school in 1999 at Columbine High School. After three years at CHS he finished his high school at Brentwood College in Canada in 2004. After which he did some college and worked in the US and Canada. Daniel enlisted (still a Canadian citizen) in US Marine Corps in 2008 to serve his new country and to help pay for a future college education. On July 4, 2009 Daniel swore in as a US citizen before the Vice-President in Sadam Hussein's old palace in Bagdad, Iraq. In September 2010 he was sent as a combat replacement for the 2/6 Marines in Marjah, Afghanistan. On December 16, 2010, Daniel was severely wounded by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). He primarily suffered severe wounds to his legs, left arm, and left lung. There were many times he was close to not making it. He has since had both legs amputated above the knee and three fingers amputated on his left hand. His lung and other injuries are healing well. Before this event and for many years to come, we know Daniel to be a loving, caring, intellegent, humourous, giving, adventurous, and deep thinking person. Keep praying! And use this blog to share your thoughts and encouragement.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A little Surf, Sun, and fun...

A couple weeks ago I would have said "surfing, sure sounds like fun". Few days later and my response is much more enthusiastic . I'm hooked. Surfing is a unbelievably great time.
This weekend I had the opportunity to spend a few days at San Onofre beach (just north of San diego) doing nothing but surfing and hanging out. Once a year Operation Amped (great guys, check out their website) put together a surf camp for wounded vets. I really don't know how many guys were out but it was a good number., for sure a decent crew. The group do a great job of making it easy; all the accommodations on the beach, food, surfboards and gear, etc. All me and the other guys had to do was show up. Almost at a one-to-one ratio, all of the participants had a mentor/instructor help us out in the water. Seeing though most of us had never surfed before, and all have a vast array of different injuries, the individual help was well received. All weekend I had Josh Harper getting me up and going. Really great guy, he made me look good. (and since he works for Billabong hooked us all up with gear and got the company to help sponsor the event) Can't thank him enough...and hopefully i'll get to keep surfing with him in the future. Honestly, thanks to everyone that helped make to weekend a huge success. (especially Betty, you crazy woman for getting me into this).
My body is still recovering from 4 days of surfing, my face is still sunburnt, my wheelchair is still covered is sand, but i'm still riding the high of enjoyment. Getting out in the ocean and surfing is one of the few times where I don't notice the my injuries, hell it barely an afterthought. Or maybe I'm just turning into a Californian.