Saline surfing clears sinuses

BALBOA PENINSULA — Caleigh Haber popped up on a blue foam board wobbling but steady, riding tandem with Rip Curl Pro Pipeline Master Champion Jamie O’Brien. The 6-foot-2 pro surfer had just flown in the night before from his home on the North Shore of Oahu to hit the waves of Newport Beach with a group of kids like Caleigh who suffer from cystic fibrosis.

For two hours Sunday morning Caleigh, 16, of Rancho Santa Margarita and eight others, with families and friends in tow, ripped up the surf near 28th Street in Newport Beach. Each surfer received individual attention from Newport Surf Camp as well as professional instructors like O’Brien.

Ranging in age from 8 to 24, the novice surfers had a fun afternoon in the waves. Turns out surfing or any activity in ocean water helps improve respiratory functions associated with cystic fibrosis, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. This hereditary disease creates thick mucus along the lungs and respiratory passages, causing severe infections. Salt in the ocean air and water helps clear mucus from the lungs by drawing moisture out from the tissue.

New methods take this concept and use saline treatments to free bacteria-filled mucus from the walls of the lung, said Lori Ross, a genetic counselor with Ambry Genetics. Modern treatments have increased the life expectancy of children with the disease to about 36 years on average, she said.

“Most of these kids go through at least one hospitalization a year,” Ross said. “They call it ‘going in for a tune-up.’”

Caleigh has gone in for three tune-ups and a sinus surgery in the last year. It’s been a tough year physically but she felt fantastic after a session with the pros.

“You don’t get to surf with pro surfers very often,” Caleigh said. “[O’Brien] did most of the work but it was awesome.”

West Surfing Products donated all brand-new wetsuits for the event, which were sorely needed as the water temperature barely peaked at 60 degrees. The boards donated by Newport Surf Camp’s founder Todd Elders were a must as well.

“These kids get to go out and do something like surf and it’s healthy for them,” said event organizer James Dunlop from Ambry Genetics who worked with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Newport Surf Camp in making the morning a reality.

“James has taken this to a whole new level,” brother and co-founder of Ambry Genetics Charles Dunlop said. “The great thing about surfing is they can go out and work hard, and feel good about it afterward.”