WhenViorelandhisIndoJaxcrew
pulled intotheorphanagethisyear, seven
yearsaftertheymet,Reenaandher friends
droppedwhattheyweredoingandranto
them. “She’satotallydifferentperson,”
hesays. “She’sdoingwell inschool.She’s
goingtogosomewhere inher life.”
T
hesearing lateafternoon
coatseverything inheat.
Viorelpullsup to the
BlockadeRunnerResort
inagreenVolkswagenbus
coveredwithstickersandpiledhighwith
surfboards (hedrove thesamekindof
van inhighschool, except itwaspainted
camouflage).He jumpsoutof thevan
andheads inside.Today therewillbeno
surfing. Instead, studentsand instructors
areattendinga fundraiserandascreen-
ingof
BeyondSight
, amovieaboutDerek
Rabelo, ablindsurfer fromBrazil.
Before themovie,Viorel sitsatanout-
doorpatiowithAileenanda few friends.
AmannamedBenMcCroskystopsby
tosayhello.McCrosky isacorporal in
theMarineswhohadhis left legampu-
tatedbelow thekneeafter the truckhe
was inrodeoveranIED inAfghanistan.
McCroskysipsabeer,hisprosthetic foot
fittingsnugly inaflip-flop.
“Whatsportdidyouplay today?”
Viorelaskshim. It’san inside joke.After
McCroskyrecovered,hecompeted in
marathonsand triathlons, even thoughhe
hadneverdoneeitherbeforegettinghurt.
Heearnedmedals forbasketball, volley-
ballandcycling in the2014Wounded
WarriorGamesandhasplans tocompete
in theParalympics inBrazilnextyear.
More thananythingelse,McCrosky
loves tosurf.Threeyearsago,hesigned
up forIndoJax’sWoundedWarriorcamp,
only tofind thatnoneofhisprosthetic legs
gavehim therightbalance.Hespenthis
firstday fallingandgettingup, fallingand
gettingup.On thesecondday,herodea
wave toshore. Instructorscried. It felt like
ahomecoming.UnderViorel’sdirection,
McCroskyhadrediscoveredhisold life.
AsMcCrosky tells this tale, dozens
ofkidsandadultsmill around, allwith
theirownsmall victories, all spurred
byViorel.Meanwhile,Viorelmunches
nonchalantlyonawrap—he takesno
credit foranyof it; onlydelights inseeing
ithappen. “Whenever I’m feeling like I’m
tired, orwondering if Icankeepgoing,
it’s thosestories that I reflecton,”he
says. “Man, youhave tokeepgoing.”
MATTCROSSMAN
, a freelancewriter in
Charlotte,NorthCarolina, haswrittenmore
than40 cover stories innationalmagazines.
94
DECEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
ONTHESECOND
DAY,HERODE
AWAVETOSHORE.
INSTRUCTORS
CRIED.
Viorel andhis staffdiscuss
howcampwent.
