United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

A few weeks ago I went skiing for the first time in two years. If you'll recall thats how I got myself in the unfortunate situartion of my BPI.

I've posted a few pictures and blogged about it here: http://www.leftarmbandit.org/2009/03/skiing-again.html

Cheers,
Joel

Congratulations Joel. My third anniversary will be on April 6. I have limited use of my left arm but work constantly on building strength. My injury happened three days before my 66th birthday on a training run for the National Masters Super G championships. Today was my 76th day of skiing this season and was the first day I have been able to ski without a hot pad in my mitt to keep my hand from freezing. You are no doubt younger than I am but I want you to know you can still keep going. One-handed golf is not great and mountain biking with no left hand to brake with is sometimes scary but not impossible.

Hi Denis,

Talk about being green with envy, 76 days of skiing this season, I think I have a good year if I can get a few weekends in. You mentioned your hand getting cold, do you use a sling for your arm or does it hang? I use a sling because I have no use, so I just get it out of the way. But I put my sling on under all my layers except one, that way my arm keeps warm not only by my body heat but also by being under a vest or jacket. I have skied in extreme cold and my arm/hand stays nice and toasty.

I also had to comment on the one handed golf not being great. I actually think it is and currently play to an 18 handicap. My only reason for not being better is that I don't play but once a month, but I do play with a one armed guy who is 67 years old and is a 7 handicap. So it is possible to be very good at it and actually hit it very far too, I hit my 7 iron 140 yrds and get my drives out to 240 if I connect.

As I always say, if you have enough desire, any sport is possible, not only to just compete, but to do it at a very high level.

Dan

That's great. I've been going skiing every year for the past 4 years and absolutely love it, so it's great to hear you're back out there, especially considering that's how your injury occured, that's the definition of bravery, persistence, and most importantly, perseverence. I am surprised by how good I can ski with one arm, double-black diamonds and all. Don't let your arm keep you from doing anything. I still play basketball, golf, run, bike, etc. Am I as good as I used to be at a lot of these activities? No, not really, but because of my strong competitive spirit, I like, actually, I love, the extra challenge and in some aspects I'm better. For example, in golf, I cannot hit 300+ yard drives anymore, but I consistently hit the ball 175, dead-straight every time and my putting is significantly better. The last round I played, I shot a 101, but a had a 44 on the back-nine, and for me, that was probably the best 9 holes I ever played. So keep it up, keep skiing and do whatever you want to do, the arm will only hold you back if you let it, it took me a few years to realize that.
Oh yeah, Dan, I can't thank you enough for the slings and the conversations. Between you and Chris, you guys have made a tremendous difference in lots of our lives.