United Brachial Plexus Network

OK, I know there are a bunch of people who are out doing life with this injury and I just wanted to help give encouragement to the newer people who are working to get active again.

For the newer people,I am the person who makes the athletic arm sling, so I know a bunch of people are doing sports, I talk them all the time plus I have been active in sports for over 24 years with one arm. I just thought I would see who will post some pictures and other stories about what they are doing.

I know I mentioned this a few months ago, but we got together six of us back in October for the Challenged Athletes Foundation 1/2 Ironman Tri, we put together a relay team of "wingers" who competed. Here is a picture of the four of us who competed that day and a pic of the six of us who got together for dinner.

Just so those who might not know this, but the six in the picture are all doing life and are very accomplished athletes. Joel and Robin are both National Champions in Triathlon and compete for the USA Paratriathlon Team. Michael is a world class snow skier, Fernando snow boards, water skis, mountain bikes and offroads, Chris is snowskiing, riding his motorcycle and other sports I will let him talk about and I just do sports, my best two sports are waterskiing and golf.

I just went skiing with Michael last week in Tahoe, he is an amazing skier and had an absolute ball following him around the mountain, we would have taken a few pictures, but the conditions were terrible, cold, windy and snowing the whole time, plus both of our cell phones died in the morning. Michael got hurt about three years ago in an avalanch in Tahoe and is back living there and living the skiers dream again, very cool to be with him and get to ski with a great skier.

I could write a bunch more about my activities but I wanted to hear from the others on here, post away and don't worry if it seems like bragging, just let others know what you are doing and accomplishing.

Dan

Thanks a BUNCH for the pictures of you "Wingers", DAN. You all inspire me to try new things... even at my 72 years!!
My main sport is walking and playing with my Service/Companion dog Lucy Lou; she's a 8 yr old Jack Russell and lucky for me, she is a pretty mellow JR. We do a loooong walk once a week at a very large rural off leash park that used to be a working attle farm...3-4 acres i think.

Carolyn J
LOBPI/72

i've been going to the gym daily and walk a mile or so on the indoor track, today i managed to jog half a lap, the first jog since my accident. then do the resistance machines i can handle. today on the way to the locker room to get in swim mode i checked out a basketball and shot left handed hoops for about 15 mins. that was both fun and funny. then jump in the pool with the water wing i got for christmas to keep my arm afloat and do arm exercises and even swim a bit. by the way, dan, the sling is great. probably overall the best thing i've gotten to help my recovery. i've learned to get it on with the straps closed. i doubt i could keep up with those pictured, but then i've only had 4 months to get ready. doug

Hi all,

I was injured while running, and the first thing I wanted to do after my recovery was get back at it. Dan's sling is hands down the best piece of equipment I have ever had. It let me get back into running and made me feel like life was somewhat normal again, once I was able to get back into form. In 2010 I completed 5 half marathons and a handful of other races; below is a pic from a 15K last November taken on marathonfoto.

To be sure, the injury has made my times slower than before. I was never competitive at a collegiate nor national level, but I used to be in the running for local age-division awards at a given race. Now, I've set new PRs post-injury and am somewhat recognizable in the local running community. Even in a big city, you seldom see others training or racing with a sling. What that leads to is 2 things: explaining the injury a lot, and then people (hopefully) being inspired by your drive. I know I am personally inspired by the folks that ran the CAF race and their own personal accomplishments.

I'd like to do some duathlons in 2011, and in preparing to train for that I had my bike overhauled for one-arm use. There several options to do this, but I had my road bike outfitted with a flat handlebar, a brake lever with splitter, and 2 finger shifters. See other pic of this. I had a lot of input from other bpi athletes on this, as well as a bike shop that really went the extra mile to get the job done.

I'm really glad to have connected to this forum and found other athletes and would definitely like to hear about others.

Best,
MW

I have a long history in sports. I was a member of the U S Disabled Ski Team(Nordic) from 1983-1992. During that time I was a member of 2 Paralympic teams, 2 World Championships Team, 1 World Cup Team and 5 times National Champion. From 1992- 1996, I was a member of the U S Disabled Cycling Team. I was an alternate for the 1992 Paralympic Road Cycling Team.
I swim a little. Fly fish a lot. Ski almost 30 days each season. I roller ski during the summer & ride a road bike too. Have a health club membership since 1983 and lift weights a few times a week.






Bill

Mom to 16 yr. Old son who crashed ski racing last January. Lucas suffered avulsion of C 5/7, T1, left arm. Went to Mayo. Had huge surgery. Free muscle transplant; nerve transplants; nerve transfers. Recovery such a long haul for a kid who was an elite lacrosse player and ski racer. Surgery will result in rudimentary function, GI Joe helper arm only. Rough adjustment, but getting through it. Lucas may be helped by dialogue from other TBP injured persons. We cannot ever know how it feels to lose use of a limb....

Wanted to see what everyone else has scheduled for the summer?

Getting my activities planned for the coming year, bike rides, mud runs, triathlons and of course the numerous water ski trips.

Signed up for a 58 mile bike ride April 2nd. A bit hilly, but should be fun.

Just signed up for this today, I am doing the 10k one on April 17th: http://www.downanddirtymudrun.com/
Check out the video from the 5k one from last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGxnjTzmfLo
I'll post some pics after the event.

I'll add more as I get registered, plus about to post information on the Challenged Athletes Foundations big event in October we did last year and hoping we can get a few teams together for this years event.

Hope all of you are out enjoying all life has to offer,
Dan

YOU GUYS ARE AWSOME!!! , I have the same Evil - Con-evil heart, Swing on tree limps at 10 with Erbs , The rest you guys know of me.

Best Trys ALL-ways,
Tom

since i am not allowed to excercise my arm or hand at this point (doctors orders), i am going to the ymca and working out my legs. i am using a stair stepper and a bicycle-type machine, then i walk the track for at least 20 minutes. i also live about 1/2 mile from the riverfront, i am going to start walking down there when it gets to be nicer weather. thats about as athetic as i get. lol actually i am trying to lose some weight. as far as bike riding, my balance is so off from my arm having no feeling, i cant ride my bike any more

Wow, it's so inspiring to see where everyone is at right now. Definately gives me ideas for the future.
I try to get to the gym 4-5 times a week to use the pool, weight machines, and walk around 3-5 miles on the track. I can't use a broad range of gym equiptment at this point, but what I do use, I use consistantly. Ironically my biggest hurdle is my bad knee, NOT my arm. The range of movement I've gotten from all the surgeries allows my arm to make that front to back swinging motion needed for walking and/or running. I would love to start jogging, riding a real bike, etc., but my knee surgeon would be very upset with me at this stage, lol. ( already got a no running citation email from him a few weeks ago ) I use a stationary excercise bike (boring) to get a cardiovascular workout and I try to get "lifestyle excercise".....as in I walk everywhere, even to run errands and get my groceries. It's been 9 months now since my last surgery which is the longest stretch I've had between surgeries since the accident 2 1/2 yrs ago. It's been really nice to gain some true momentum in my physical fitness.
MW....your bike setup is really interesting. More pics? ...........and I think we have the same taste in rugs too.