The paramedic whispered in my ear 'God will never leave you or forsake you.'

Both of my parents are surfers, of course, so they understood where my passion for surfing was at and I guess they saw the talent that I had.

God created the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the waves for our enjoyment. Surfing is just my way of worshipping Him.

It's hard for me to describe the joy I felt after I stood up and rode wave in for the first time after the attack. I was incredibly thankful and happy inside. The tiny bit of doubt that would sometimes tell me you'll never surf again was gone in one wave.

My faith in God is a huge part of my life, and yeah He has blessed me with an amazing family, and group of friends. In the Bible he tells us to think positively about ourselves, to not be down on ourselves. So I just try to live the way He wants me to, and make the best decisions I can.

God will give us the strength to be able to handle things. I mean, you can try to do it on your own, and sometimes you can pull off some stuff, but in the long run, it's much easier with Him by our side.

People can do whatever they want if they just set their heart to it, and just never give up, and just go out there and do it.