Disabled Explorers Update?

[trailsurfer]

Lance, wondering if you would give an update on the latest news from your organization.

Thanks

 

[1leglance]

I am in final talks with a super dude from Colorado to help cover the US side of things when I go to Australia next year....and I will take the show on the road down under and see who the DE concept fly's in Oz.
I will know more in a couple of weeks when I get to spend a few days camping with this person and we beat out the plan.
He has great ideas and has already made a difference.

Thanks for posting and letting me know there is still interest out there.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Thanks for posting and letting me know there is still interest out there.

There still is.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Lance, have you had anyone show serious interest in taking over the group? I myself have a fused L1 with full lower mobility, and a torn left Brachial Plexus with very limited use of my left hand as the result of a serious accident in the Army. 90% of people I meet never notice it though, especially when they see all of my projects I have succeeded at. I am currently studying secondary special education but have a lot of free time during the summer. Let me know if I can help out somehow, Eric

 

[1leglance]

Eric great job getting on with life beyond the injury..
I will have more info soon but it looks like we will have a strong point person but there are some fun changes in the works that will open things up for a wide range of ways for people to help & tell THEIR story.
I will be in touch by pm soon
enjoy
Lance

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Lance, have you had anyone show serious interest in taking over the group? I myself have a fused L1 with full lower mobility, and a torn left Brachial Plexus with very limited use of my left hand as the result of a serious accident in the Army. 90% of people I meet never notice it though, especially when they see all of my projects I have succeeded at. I am currently studying secondary special education but have a lot of free time during the summer. Let me know if I can help out somehow, Eric

Right Brachial Plexus for me, but zero functionality from the shoulder down.
Mine was a motorcycle accident in '97. No fused vertebrae though!

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Right Brachial Plexus for me, but zero functionality from the shoulder down.
Mine was a motorcycle accident in '97. No fused vertebrae though!

I also ruptured/tore the Brachial artery and almost lost the arm, but was lucky enough to have a great surgeon who grafted in a vein taken from my left thigh and was successful. I have to be careful around extreme heat and cold though, due to slightly less blood flow and only having nerve sensation in the top half of my arm. I have had some pretty bad burns and cuts that I didn't even know happened until hours later. At the time I was living in Colorado Springs and the hospital shared the same property with the US Olympic Training Center, so the hospital was staffed by some very good doctors.

I'm just glad that I don't have to rely on pain meds and don't sit around all day looking for hand-outs like some would in this type of situation. The first question I asked my Orthopedic surgeon was "when will I ski again?", he said as far as my back was concerned I would be fine and I was skiing 9 months later(only because there was not snow sooner). I later skied with a friend I made who is a bilateral paraplegic since age 8 1/2 and teaches disabled skiing. He has been on the US Disabled Ski Team, national wheelchair basketball teams, built race cars and Jeeps, and has a beautiful wife and daughter. He was a big inspiration to me and my recovery. I spent a few days skiing with him at work and came to learn that my orthopedic surgeon's son was a client of the disabled ski and snowboard school where. His name was also Eric and was injured in car fire, small world!

I have built my Jeep and several Mazda race cars since that day in 1999 as well as fixed cars for friends, and am thankful to be alive. I have learned a lot about myself and that it is far better to give than receive. And vise grips make a great second hand when working on cars.

Enough about me, time to replace the rear main seal on my Jeep!

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Eric, I sent you a PM.

 

[lostfamilyof6]

Lance,

I am glad you found a point man for Operations here in the U.S. I am not at the point in my recovery to take on such a project and I was really concerned about the organization taking a huge hit.

When I do get to the point of being able to help out more I would love to know how; so please keep us all in the loop as to who this new person is and what is going on so we can help grow the organization for a great cause.

Thanks,
Kendall