United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I was hit by a car 11 years ago and since then I have not been able to use my left arm. I am a very active 25 year old who enjoys skiing and sailing. I am getting frustrated with the cost of ski gloves especially if I'm only going to use the right one. I am wondering if there is anyone out there that has use only of their left arm and wants to buy the left glove/mitten off of me. I also wanted to find out if anyone knows a way to rig a sunfish to sail it with one arm. thank you

Hi Charlie,

I'm so glad to read your post - since you might be able to make some suggestions for us. We can't help you with buying a left ski glove since my 17 yr old son also has a LTBPI...but we're planning a ski trip next March & could use any advice you might have since you've obviously done it. (btw, you & John were about the same age when you had your accidents - John was hit by a car while cycling.)

John has total avulsions & has had a good bit of nerve transfer surgery. His doctors have said he can do normal sports again, but to use common sense in protecting his shoulder & upper arm.

1. Do you secure your left arm while skiing & if so, how? Inside or outside your jacket?

2. Any advice on protecting the shoulder? Football pads seem a bit bulky somehow. Guess another factor is trying to fit it all under the ski jacket.

3. Do ski mittens not work to protect the bpi hand - just too hard to get them on? Seems you still need protection from the cold - has anybody tried taking a too-large mitten, cutting it in half lengthwise, & adding velcro to secure it back down?

4. Logistically, how do you ski with one pole? Balance? Any advice on being completely independent on the slopes? Did you have to go with shorter skis at first - or do you even remember after so many years?

5. This one might be hard to answer since you don't know us. John was an advanced skier before the accident - and I was wondering if I should sign him up for a half day of an adaptive ski lesson, first thing back on the slopes, just to get him started doing things correctly. Or do bpi people seem to just "wing it"?

6. Any chance you live in the Vail/Beaver Creek area? (smile)

Thanks - all advice is greatly appreciated. And good luck with sharing a set of mittens!

Ellen

Here's a link about a skiier from my home town, Rachael Battersby. http://www.challengedathletes.org/caf/people.asp?id=17 She had a total bpi aged 4 and has gone on to become this country's greatest gold medal winner in the winter 2002 paralympics with 3 golds, and she was also named Sportsperson of the Year (that's Sportsperson of the Year-NOT disabled sportsperson of the year. In New Zealand, an exremely sporting country, that's amazing)As you can see she uses one pole and is a LTBPI. She has amputated, she told me she did it about age 18 because the arm just got in the way. I hope she cleans up again in the next winter paralympics.
Hope you guys give it a go!
Jen NZ

Jen -

WHOA. Just looked up the site on Rachael - she is amazing! You can tell just from the picture what an agressive skier she is. And that she'll go far.

A couple months after his 2nd surgery, John was able to go to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, to a disabled cyclist camp. The organizer of the weeklong session holds the world's speed record on her bike - and she doesn't let anything stop her. It was the perfect timing for him, to be among dedicated athletes like that who don't see their disability as all that great a hindrance in the overall scheme of things.

The rest of us seem like such wussies!!

Ellen

Hi, i tried skiing for the first time about a year after my accident. Unlike you guys though i had pretty good use of my arm although my hand was very weak. I could hold the pole but not bear any weight on it as my grip wasn't strong enough. I tied the pole to my hand with the strap as a solution but then my instructor said throw down your poles and ski without them, which i was nervous about but did, thinking what the heck? Snowboarders don't use poles? As for the gloves i couldn't get fingered gloves on my BPI hand so got oversized mitten types instead. I didn't wear any padding but thinking back i should have. A company called Dainese (Italian) make a body stocking with body armour on the chest back shouldrs and arms, a muti sport one. Here's a link to it http://www.dainese.it/pre.asp
you can navigate from there (cheers Court!) ~ hope you find what you're looking for. Happy skiing!

Hi Dave,

Thanks for posting.

I took a look at the Dainese site & the "Snow Elbow Guard" looks like it might also provide some shoulder protection. At least it could be only worn on the injured side - as opposed to other padding I've seen that covers from the neck to the chest, both sides. Those look kind of hot & bulky.

I've contacted the company to get suggestions - and will update if/when I hear back.

Thanks for the site!

Ellen

i like the idea of a glove exchange. however, mine might be too small for the guys. i am right tbpi tho' so need left gloves. i usually have a large mitten on my injured hand and then zip it up inside the coat, as the cold will aggravate the heck out of it and it will "burn" for days afterwards.

also, a friend of mine made me an old-fashioned muff to use. it works pretty good.

i never skied (not downhill, anyway) when i had 2 arms, so i doubt i'd do well with one. i figure if i tried cross country skiing now, i'd just go in circles - to the left LOL!

hugs,

jan