I recently received my annual clearance of chondro-sarcoma. Yeay!

Another year here!

To celebrate, I went to New York... the flowers were in bloom, it rained, and the people scurried to and fro. 

Life is good! 

Since getting more involved in adaptive sports, I have met some amazing people like U.S. wheelchair tennis Paralympian Kaitlyn Verfuerth and Quad Rugby (aka "Murderball") player Mike DeYoung. They are incredibly inspiring.

In the attached picture, I am in a huddle with my Lady Warrior teammates. Kaitlyn is on the far left and I am on the far right. Our amazing coach, Alma, is in the center "gesticulating" (-: . I get in trouble for standing up in my chair during the games.  I try not to do it, have even strapped my leg down to remind myself not to, but my instincts get the better of me when shooting... and well, that's considered a foul in wheelchair basketball! 

 Have a wonderful day ladies... you deserve it! 

I joined the UCLA adaptive sports program after three track skiing with one of their recreational therapists.  First, she introduced me to wheelchair basketball.  I played "fun practices" with the Fast Break'in Lakers at The Wooden Center. I had my behind kicked by those guys, but it was alot of fun and I had a really, really good night sleep for the first time in a long time. I have recently committed to The Lady Warriors/Los Angeles to play on an all female team. These are an amazing group of women. Ironically, I ran into them on a flight back from Dallas (after the Limbs for Life Fundraiser). I saw their sports chairs in the waiting area, but didn't think anything of it. Then, when I was pre-boarding behind them, I heard "JO?" and there before me was the entire Lady Warrior team. We happened to all be seated in the same couple of rows and talked all the way back to L.A. Directly next to me was the USA women's paralympic tennis champ. She was the most inspiring person I've spoken to in a long time and she's only 24.

Next, I joined the UCLA adaptive bike program.  The therapist asked if I had heard of recumbent bikes.  I vaguely recalled seeing one demo'd at the ACA Boston conference a few years back, but just never thought seriously about it (back then on 100 mg of Fent who thinks of anything seriously?) (-:

Anyway - she said, "Come down, I'll have a handcycle for you and you'll have a great time with the group." Well, she was right. I had a blast. We cycled from Marina del Rey to Manhattan Beach Pier and back (12 miles). It was the first time I handcycled. It wasn't easy, especially uphill, but I made it. I have strong upper body strength from all the crutching. But ouuuhhh, I was sore after (a happy sore, mind you!)

The bike UCLA loans me is far from state of the art, so I decided to check into purchasing a recumbent bike of my own. I have researched handcycles like the "Lightening"  to recumbent foot cycles like the Catrike - Trail, Road and Expedition.  Today I tested the Catrike Trail - and let me tell you - it was AMAZING!!! It has a foot pedal and when I first arrived for my demo, the bike shop owner said he didn't think I could manage a foot cycle being a hemi. I told him I thought I could - I had cycled on a stationary bike at the gym and on a tandem before. He was skeptical, but his assistant was all smiles when I wouldn't take "no" for an answer. The test drive went great - I was all smiles and so was the assistant.

These are expensive pieces of equipment and I want to make the right choice. Although I may one day want to join competitions, I think for now the beach path routes will do.  That being said (and if you all read this far): Do you have any suggestions? Have you experimented with recumbent bikes? What do you suggest? I have one good sturdy leg that I would like to keep fit, so a recumbent foot pedal sounds right. But, I can see the benefits of the handcycle too. Any thoughts? Thanks!

After reading one of my blog posts, Dan Lawrence, one of our very own Less Than Four members donated his old Venture prosthetic foot to The World Limb Bank through the "Limbs for Life" organization (www.limbsforlife.org).  Thank you Dan for your generosity!!! You helped someone get started on the right foot! (-:

Please look in your closet for any old, unused limbs OR ask your prosthetist if he/she has any parts sitting around. Someone who could not otherwise afford one might be using it right now and living a more productive, happy life as a result.  

Thank you on behalf of Limbs for Life.  "We aren't asking for much...just an arm and a leg!"