Wonder Woman: Against Steep Odds, A Surfer Is Born

It’s an overcast day on . The surf is small but rideable—two or three feet on the face and a little bit jumbled up. In the south parking lot there’s a bunch of surfers squeezing into their wetsuits and getting ready to head out.   

One of those surfers is Maija Murphy, 42. Maija, a Pacifica resident of 25 years, wife and mother of two, is a bit mischievous in nature, spirited and has the propensity to be sassy.

She’s looked forward to this moment for a long time. This will be her first time out surfing. And, like it is for most beginners, it’s a challenge just to get into the wetsuit. Her husband Benny and friend Sarah Bucini-Lewkowitz, a seasoned surfer, help her out. Once in her wetsuit, she rubs some sun block all over her face. 

Finally ready to hit the beach, her husband picks her up and places her in a custom-made beach-ready wheelchair and rolls her down to the sand. 

In 1986, while out with her friends in Missouri, where Maija is from, she was in a horrible car accident. She was ejected from the rear window of the car after it sideswiped another vehicle. Two of her vertebrae were shattered and bone fragments pressed into her spinal cord causing permanent paralysis and leaving her without the use of her legs. She was just 17 years old.

Murphy ended up coming out to Northern California with her mother later that year to visit the Shriners Hospital for Children in San Francisco for further treatment. She never returned to Missouri.

Three years later, she met Benny Murphy in a Haight Street bar. The two eventually got hitched, bought a house in Vallemar and raised their two daughters, Kirriana and Mikaela. 

Like most of us salty types, Maija has always gravitated toward water. It didn’t matter what form, either: lake, pond or even a puddle. She loved the ocean and the thought of surfing always appealed to her. After her accident , however, that thought quickly went away. 

But somewhere around 2001, she got new neighbors. Sara and Craig Lekowitz bought the property next to Maija and Benny in Pacifica and knocked down a dilapidated house to build a new one. 

“I hoped for a decent neighbor and the divine answered that with a positive, badass person (in Sarah),” Murphy said.  

The two quickly became friends and formed a strong bond. Sarah was already surfing and would come back with great tales of the sea. Maija, who is an accomplished artist, would sometimes paint seascapes on canvas in her backyard and dream about racing down the face of a wave. She surfed vicariously through her friend, instead.

Sometimes, over their favorite lavations, the two would try and think of a way to get Maija out on a board and riding a wave.

"We have to get you out there,” Sarah would say. “I could put you on the front of my board."

Although this was an unlikely scenario, it wasn’t impossible. It lit a fire in Maija’s heart.

Now, Pacifica has a pretty tight, family-oriented surf community. Ohana, the Hawaiians call it. So, after a few phone calls and a little help from their friends, the day was set for when Maija’s dream of surfing would finally come true. Or, at least a first attempt at surfing. 

Sarah rounded up a group of veteran surfers and photographers to help her out: Asi Giassi, a Linda Mar regular and accomplished surfer, along with Anthony Murrillo, Tim and Debbie Cissna, Stefanie Phillips, Mark Gunson, Alan Kennedy, all Linda Mar locals and accomplished surfers.

After a brief discussion of how they were going to accomplish the task at hand, Maija was on a board and paddling her way out to the line-up. At first, it wasn’t all warm and fuzzy. She had to take a couple of real waves to the face just trying to get out. That can be one harsh wake-up call. But, with that crew helping her, she was in safe hands. 

Finally, she was sitting out in the surf lineup with the crew waiting for a set wave. Her set wave.

I was lucky enough to be her first tandem partner and was stoked to share this experience with her.

She didn’t have to wait long. We noticed a couple of waves out the back so we spun around and started paddling. 

With a shove from Murillo, Maija was surfing.

We rode the wave all the way to the beach. With that wave and a grin from ear to ear, another surfer was born in Maija.

“It was mind-blowing!” she said. “I think all my adrenals dumped copiously into my bloodstream in an instant.”

As a surfer growing up in a coastal town, I always felt a bit like a spoiled brat having so many surf spots just a stone’s throw away from my front door. When I ever I get the urge to paddle out, I’m pretty sure there will be a wave somewhere to ride or a friend that will talk me into going out it even if there’s not. Sure makes for a blessed life; a life I sometimes take for granted.

Now, I consider myself a pretty decent athlete. If Lance Armstrong is a ten and John Daly (the party golfer) is a one, I’m probably a 5.2 on the overall athletic scale. I’ve mastered a few sports, surfing being one of those.

But I realized something when I read  a quote from Donald Harley, a sports writer: “A trait that most athletes share is the fact that all of them have great reserves of determination, power and strength of character. A lot of them overcome serious adversity to reach the top of their sport.”

I haven’t had to overcome much adversity other than my own laziness. But for the most part, I think most athletes would subscribe to Harley’s point of view.

Surfing is a strenuous sport and requires a lot of upper body strength as well as balance and coordination. It’s no wonder so many people try this sport once or twice and never return. Not only do you have to meet the physical challenges but in our case you also have the cold icy waters of the North Pacific to deal with.

Imagine all of that desire, determination and will power but without half of the power and strength needed to succeed in the sport. Now we can talk about overcoming serious adversity.

Maija definitely overcame adversity on that day and has demonstrated how to live life to the fullest no matter what hand you’re dealt. She’s definitely an inspiration to all of us and my new ambassador of stoke. She has since been out a couple of more times and plans on continuing her new surfing career.