Newport 6-year-old finds solace in the sea. [View all]

[elleng]

Alex Chery inches his walker across the sand in Newport Beach, slowly taking steps toward the ocean.

Most other kids in the after-school surf program have sprinted to put on their wetsuits as Alex's fragile legs navigate the small sandy bumps, his determined eyes set on the surf.

Alex was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects motor skills and physical development. The only time the 6-year-old frees himself from the clunky walker is when he's in the ocean, a place he's become more comfortable with than dry land.

"It's really good for my body," he explains in a soft voice before hitting the surf on the south side of the Newport Beach Pier. "Surfing helps me walk, because it gets my legs stronger by moving. It makes me have more ability."

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/chery-496083-surf-anthony.html

(Grandson of a friend.)