A paraplegic mum has fulfilled her dream of riding the waves – by strapping herself to the back of a surfer with DUCT TAPE.
Pascale Honore, 50, binds herself to professional diver Tyron Swan, 23, before the daring duo wade into the ocean.
The wheelchair-bound paraplegic is then towed along by a jet ski before being released to catch a wave.
Paris-born Pascale was left paralysed 18 years ago when her spinal cord was injured in a car accident but has refused to let it define her life.
She said: “It was most exhilarating experience of my life. Having been sat down for the past 18 years, I felt as though I was moving again.
“I completely lost the concept of being paralysed. I’ll never forget the feeling.”
Pascale, who has two sons and lives near Adelaide, South Australia, refused to let her injury beat her.
“I decided to just get on with it. You either look at what you’ve got or you look at what you haven’t got,” she said.
Enjoying watching her sons surf the beautiful blue water, Pascale who had never surfed before, grew frustrated at not being able to join them.
That’s when a good friend of her sons came up with the unique idea to strap her to his back using duct tape.
She said: “We were sitting in the lounge one day and he looked at me and said, ‘I think I could put you on my back’.
“I’ve always been up for a challenge, so I said ‘OK, let’s try it’.”
Pascale, who weighs just over seven stone, slips into a make-shift back-pack which is held together over Tyron’s shoulders with duct tape.
She admits that people thought the idea was insane at first, but Pascale, who has no feeling below her chest, believes that Tyron’s strength and her tiny frame make it possible.
“If I was five kilos heavier it wouldn’t be possible,” says Pascale who hits the waves whenever she can.
The duo is now planning on heading over to Western Australia for the winter, where the waves reach upwards of 40ft, and are hoping to get a duct tape sponsorship.
