Your Stories

Light at The End of The Tunnel

My name's Jack Christy & I'm a Biker in Vancouver, Canada.

I was involved in a bad motorcycle crash in August, 1998. Suffered a closed head brain injury (originally bad, but recovery has been dramatic), various internal injuries (100% recovery), & a severe brachial plexus injury (total avulsion) on the right side. I was right handed.

After 6 months of hospital & rehab I went back to my house, where I still live with my wife. Quite normally, as it turned out.

2 years after my accident, surgical reconstruction of the brachial plexus was performed. A lengthy operation (10 hours), it was only partially successful, restoring limited function to the shoulder & hand, but nothing to the bicep, upper arm.

My Doctor suggests that we give it another year or two, and then consider a prosthetic arm. Prosthetic arms get most function from the shoulder. and it is thought that this will provide the best prognosis, if time won't do it's bit.

Here's a story I hope will provide a little inspiration to some of you. It worked for me.

At the close of the second World War, I was a small boy living on the west coast of Canada, near a large Naval base. In the city where we lived, there were many returning Navy sailors, coming back from the horrific action in The Pacific. Many of these battle-hardened veterans had suffered devastating injuries, including the loss of limbs. They were seen everywhere in town.

What amazed me, even as a lad, was the way in which these men had adapted, and returned to near-normal civilian life, despite the loss of legs, arms, or worse.

As I lay on the trauma ward, these stark images came back to me (funny what the mind does).

Faced with the loss of my right, I stopped feeling the (quite normal) self pity, & thought that by God, if they could do it, I should at least give it a shot. Sure, these were tough-as-nails soldiers, but we call ourselves Bikers don't we?

The other day, a friend I'd made in hospital, dropped by for a pint. He'd just finished 18 holes up the road at a local golf course. He did it on TWO artificial legs! This man is a bus driver who has recently returned to his job.

As for myself, my Driver's Licence was cancelled after my accident (naturally). 2 years ago, without my right arm, I successfully completed the Government Driver Rehab Program, took my road test (just like anyone else), and my drivers licence was restored.

In Closing:

There is little that disabled people cannot do. There are a vast array of assistive devices & techniques. Consult your Doctor and Rehab professional & GO FOR IT!

You're a Biker, Right?

Hang in! Jack