Timmy Thomas was a child surfing prodigy.  By age eleven, he was the Hawaiian junior champion, regularly beating other surfers two or three years older than him.

One early morning, Timmy was out surfing when a shark bit off his left arm.  Miraculousy, Timmy not only survived, but he was back in the water surfing and competing less than six months after the shark attack.

Timmy's amazing story was an inspiration to thousands of people, reverberating way beyond the world of surfing.  All the big talk shows wanted him, Hollywood wanted to make a movie about his life,  and politicians wanted to have their picture taken with Timmy.

About a year later, Timmy was surfing and attacked by a shark, and this time he lost his right leg.  Timmy again survived and experts said that he would never surf again. 

Timmy was determined to prove the experts wrong, and he did, teaching himself to surf using his remaining arm and leg.  The talk shows had him back on, the Hollywood scumbag machine revved back up, and the cockroach politicians begged for photo opportunities.

Despite all the madness, Timmy remained humble.  All he wanted to do was surf - he was not comfortable being anyone's hero or celebrity.

Every morning, Timmy continued to paddle out slowly to his favorite surfing spot and catch a few waves.  The years went by and people started to forget about Timmy until the day a shark bit off his remaining arm and leg.

Timmy was rushed to the hospital and though he lost a lot of blood, he defied the odds and pulled through.  Experts predicted that this would surely be the end of Timmy's surfing career. 

Timmy's friends and family rallied around Timmy, building him an adaptive surfboard and Timmy "the surfing stump" was born.

The Surfing Stump continues to inspire millions of people around the world.  To donate to Timmy's "Save-A-Stump" Foundation, just call 1-800-STUMPY.