Hunting with a handicap/dissability

[stringstretcher]

As we get older, or for many reasons, we sometimes find our selves with a handicap or dissability. I read a post on here the other day about the gentleman that was paralized from the waist down, and hunted from a ATV and harvested a deer.  That, to me, is overwhelming and such a great attitude to have the desire to do what you love.

I to am having a lot of issues due to a dissability, and am learning to adjust to be able to do what I love.

I would love to hear from other people, that have found ways to hunt and shoot traditional archery with a handicap or dissability and share with others how you over come it.  Maybe each one of us can learn from each other to make each of our lives a little better and allow us to get out into the great outdoors, safe, and have that rewarding accomplishment once again.

[stringstretcher]

This is not a thread about being handicap or dissabled everyone, it is about suggestions to help others over come a handicap or disability. So please share your thoughts.

[Rob DiStefano]

i'm sure there hasta be some folks here who've had to deal with physical ailments - some that required rehab or meds, some that needed a change of form or tackle, to keep on pulling string and hitting the woods.  

i've been scared way more than a few times with a right frozen shoulder that at one time kept me away from bows for nearly 4 months.  oooo, that's a scary feeling!  

over a period of nearly a decade i had hand tendon issues and 6 operations later, i'm fortunate to still be able to pull string.  if my string hand ever got so bad that it couldn't hold a bowstring at full draw, i'd look into a release aid!

[Keefer]

I have told a few on this site about my handicap but I consider myself very blessed to be able to shoot a traditional bow ...Back on Dec.1st.in 1985 I was helping my soon to be brother in law split logs for my soon to be father inlaw who had a bad heart and I was 22 years of age..I was loading my 50th or so log on the logsplitter with my side turned from my brother in law who was working the hydrolic lever to push the log through the 14 inch wedge...Well as I was just lifting the log and setting it down on the "I" beam my brother in law hits the lever before I let go and Blood went everywhere....My right hand got severed right smack midpalm area through skin,veins bones and all...I never saw blood move so fast and within a few seconds I was stumbling trying to walk to the truck due to blood loss...He opened the truck door and I collapst on the seat and tried to stay focussed.....Two houre later I was driven to Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore Md. by ambulance with State Police escort...No chopper that day due to weather conditions...I had my hand reattached Praise God and after the operation the next day was Monday and my Dr. removed the gulls etc. and told me I may need to have it removed due to the time it took to get there if I couldn't move it just a little by that Wednesday...Wednesday came and the Dr. removed the gulls again and said let's see if you can move it any...Well they had 8 pins holding my finger bones on and shortened my hand about 1 inch to clean up the crushed/cut bones and I was able to move it a fraction...A few years and much therapy went by and guess what? I'll be 48 years old tomorrow and shoot mid 40's weight bow's with that hand today ....I have a little drag on my finger tips due to not opening fully but I can shoot as well as some here...The good thing about it is I tell people if I miss my mark on a target that it's due cause of my hand injury but My dear kind old buddy "Bruce Golt" will pipe up and say in front of a crowd "You shot bad before the hand injury"...Got to love friends like that...      ..I've been known to knock one fella in the head and even busted my own front tooth out and had to have it capped...  

[stringstretcher]

Keefer, that is what I am talking about.  The desire to not give up and finding ways to accomplish what you did.  Great job on the rehab and the attitude to stay with it.

[Uncle Buck]

I have a friend whos father wanted hunt with us, but he had lost half an arm in a accident at work and had a prostetic arm with a hook that opened and closed. His son and I tried to design some sort of bracket to bolt to his arm using the stabilizer bushing. We never did figure it out. One day he walked over to where we were shooting. He picked uo the bow with his hook and commenced to shoot. We assumed that because of his arm he couldnt do it. You know twhat they say about assuming. I guess the moral of the story is - dont overthink the problem.

[Kituwa]

I had a hip replacment 4 years or so ago.I had complications and was in recovery 12 hours before i was stable enough to move to the ICU.Then when i was finally able to go home, i got a blood clot in my femeral artery and had to go back to the hospital for almost another month.I had been on a high dose of loritab for 3 years before i had my hip replced because i was so young and they wanted to put off doing it as long as possible.So with those 3 years and then all the delauded, morphine and demerol pluss more loritabs after i went home, i had a pretty bad addiction to pain meds.Well,i found out you couldnt get drug rehab where i lived unless you had a court order.And then, my doc was affraid of a law suit so he wouldnt help me out either.So i had to cut myself back gradually. Was the toughest thing i have ever been through.I had home health care and physical therapists and they were great, made it a lot easier in many ways.I had to learn to walk all over again.The pain was bad, pluss going through withdrawls so i went through a time of feeling like there was no reason for me to be alive.Today i get around pretty good,i dont even have a limp unless i am tired from walking too much.I also have some other problems and PTSD from the military.What it all comes down to is that disabilities are mostly in the mind.There are things you never get over but you can learn to live with them.If you cant walk normal,you find a way to get around anyway.If you lose a hand,,you can find a way to still do what you need to.You just have to get your head right.I have 7 kids and six grandkids that keep me inspired to try.Sure there are things that i cant do ut i always manage to work around them.

[legends1]

This topic hits home with me.I know many of you know my story but for those that dont.I have been involved in traditional archery the better part of my life.I worked as a Deputy Sheriff in California for 22 years.On April 6 2005 all that would change forever.While working that day i was hit head on by a drunk driver driving a stolen vehicle.The driver of that vehicle lost his life that day,for me i had to fight for mine.Among my many injuries i had both feet crushed.I would undergo many reconstrutive surgeries.I spent 13 months in a wheelchair and in out of that wheelchair for another 6 months as i learn to walk again.During that time is when i went to Tim Miegs shop and learned to build recurves.When i opened my shop in late 2005 i was building them from my wheelchair.I really think building and shooting bows saved my life.I may have had to retire from the life of a crime fighter but i found a job i enjoy every day.It was once said "You work at something you love and you will never work a day of your life."
I have always tried to be active with people of diabilitis.As we have this topic i am building a recurve for a man that lost most of his left bicep.Building a very high grip to assist him.Also check out my website,i have a youtub video on this subject.We all can overcome disabilities in one way or another.

[AkDan]

I have a brother I wish I could get out fishing, he's paralyzed from the chest down.  The days we'd spend on tire inner tubes floating around metro lakes in MN chasing walleyes before his accident I will not long forget.  We couldnt afford float tubes so we made due.  Its been years and to this day he hasnt gone out.

I know a fella (JLC, though I'm not sure he's on here much anymore) from Iowa i havent talked to in a long time now that has always in a way made me think about life in general.  He's in a wheel chair but that man is on more deer and turkeys than I hope to get close to in my life time.  Thanks Jack where ever you are!  

I had the good fortune to meet John Rook this spring at the PY banquet in Mn.   I've read about him for years, there isnt much I can say to a man who can't see but has that fire we all have.   Its a down right privelage to be around people like John or Jack and hear their stories.  Humbling beyond words!  Or atleast any words I can give.......

As a charter boat captian up here I had a couple clients over the years that were also paralyzed.   Those days were some of my best days on the water.    I wish I wasnt at work...I have a good picture of a damn fine silver salmon fishing man with a monster halibut and the gang.

[Flying Dutchman]

Okay, here I go....

I got a severe form of MS in 1997.... Got paralyzed and had to be in a wheelchair for many years. Lost my job and had to sell my house.
But instead of feeling sad and getting depressed, I counted my blessings every day and praised the Lord for all the good things He had left for me.
I decided not to give up and started to sport....
I fought my way out of my wheelchair. I gave up medicines, because there are nor real medicines for MS that help, they only made me more sick..
I lived strong and against all the advices the doctors gave me, I started to wheeler skate in order to force my body back in shape.. That was hard but I felt I was doing the right thing for me. I fell many times. I struggled and struggled and with the help of the Lord every day went better. It wasn't easy but I never gave up. When I mastered skating and became very good in it, I started bicycling in order to get some more condition. Sometimes I became so tired, I literally had to throw up, dead-sick on my bicycle. But again I never gave up and trained every day. And slightly I could make more miles every month... In the beginning just 5 kilometers, but I expanded my tours to 10, 15, 20 and even managed to ride two tours of 100 kilometers with a good friend. Men, I was proud...
But every now and then, I fell back for a few months...

Then, by coincidence I met Traditional Archery. From the moment I had a bow in my hands, I was sold....
That will be like three years ago. I bought a longbow (35 lbs) and started training and participated in some 3D tournaments. I was a fast learner, and soon I placed myself in the top 5 of The Netherlands...
I just ordered a new Bow ( a Cari-Bow Peregrine, 45 lbs, I had to save money a looong time for that) when I got blind on one eye, due to the MS. The doctors gave my eye up, because the big eye-nerve was dead due to an MS inflammation. If that wasn't enough, one night when I was walking my dog, I didn't see a big branch on the ground. I fell badly and thought I broke my shoulder, the pain was terrible. There was nobody around, so I had a hard time getting up and getting home again.
After some x-rays, the doctors told me, my shoulder wasn't broken, but dislocated and all the muscles were badly hurt.
My first question was: "Am I allowed to shoot the bow?" The answer was yes, if it wouldn't hurt too much...
So I pressed my teeth together and went on with my training sessions as much as I could. With a dislocated shoulder, much pain and one eye...

All this made me a better person. I take each day as it comes, learned to be humble and appreciate the small things of life which might ne more important as we think. But we forget that and tend to take them for granted.... I count my blessings every day and this year I ended inthe top three of quite a lot of tournaments, even in Belgium...I even won the Dutch 3D Challenge, two first prices: one for the highest score and one for the best distance shot (65 yards)

Only thing is I ask always if some archery fellows will drive me to the tournaments if the distance is over the 50 kilometers, because I never know in what shape I am when the tournament is done. They know my story and are glad to help me in this way. Besides of that: it is more fun, driving together.

Each tournament is a challenge for me and I really feel proud and strong when I shot one with good results.

Bottom line is: never give up, and don’t look what you don’t have anymore, but look at what you still have! Fight! This might sound strange to you, but I consider myself a warrrior. Tell yoyr friends, without complaining, about your disabilities, so they have a better understanding. And believe it or not: my eye-sight came back for 70% and is still improving. . The doctors never understood that!
I would like to end my story with the following:

“……and the LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you……”

And a pic ofcourse, of one of the golden pages of my book of life:

 

[b.glass]

Ad, what an amazing story! It should inspire each and every one of us! Thank you for sharing that with us.

I don't consider it a disablitiy but I am a woman trying to do what mostly men do, and I'm doing it mostly by myself. I'm also in my mid fifties and I wonder sometimes how much longer I have to continue enjoying traditional bowhunting.
I have some arthritis already so I hunt on the ground alot cause hanging stands is too much for me anymore.

I'm not complaining, just say'n.    I'll just keep adjusting.

Dr. Ashby has back problems and there's something about his string hand that forces him to have to shoot a high lb. bow to have a decent release.

[BOWMARKS]

If you got a mind to do it you will find a way.

[Liquid Amber]

My inspiration.  Darwin contracted MS late in life but looks at each day as one with opportunity.  I've hunted annually with him for 25 years and watched this terrible disease take its toll on him.  He put his compound up and hunted with his old recurve on a recent hunt.  This 185# boar is the result.  A wild, Savannah River Swamp rooter.  


 

[Can Hahaka]

For years b4 my hip replacement I had to control how far I could walk into the woods for fear that I would never make it out due to the pain. Finally after retirement I got the hip replaced and thought my worries were over. Well, due to nerve damage to my peroneal nerve I now have foot drop and must use a brace to walk with any sort of control. The uneven ground presents problem, but wanting to see what is over the next hill drives me on.

I was bummed out when I first heard the words palsey and foot drop. Then I got home and watched some old Fred Bear dvd's and in one of them there was a guy with only one leg. He walked with a crutch and held his longbow in the other hand. He not only hunted but did all the camp chores.

With this I realized how lucky I am to be pain free and be able to get to where I want to go, albeit a little slower than others.

[Tim Finley]

My best friend was in a wheel chair. He was paralyzed from an accident. We hunted everthing ducks, geese , predators. I finally got him started bowhunting and he wouldnt shoot anthing but a recurve or longbow.He shot his first buck fall before last,a good buck one that would make pope and young, but it was his last as the following spring he was killed in a car accident. 34 years in a chair and have it end like that.. very sad.

[Liquid Amber]

Nubby Pate was the archer with one leg in Bear video.  He hosted the "Tin Can" shoot in [I believe] Barstow, Cal.

[Shakes.602]

I got Hit by a pick up truck while Riding my Harley to Work. Sept. 25 1987 (I Think)  :rolleyes:  , Left Turned in Front of me, as I am told because I cannot remember that day at  ALL . Strange, its a very strange Thing not to remember a Day that Changed your Whole Life.  :confused:  
 That was 24 years ago. I am on Disability Now after working almost 12 Years on the Torn up Knee, and a Fuzed left wrist. Oh, and the hole in my Mellon where they got the Blood Clot offa' the Grey Matter.
  I realized just This Year, after passing up the Offer for the Oct 7,8,9 Hunt in Indiana, because My Bones cant hack the Temp. Changes and the Moisture from Camping. Broke My Heart too, but I have Learned My Limits, within Reason, and I try not to push too much. I am down for Several Days After I overdo.    I do what I can, and I push myself to do More! I have  NOT  given Up!! I have some Land, Family Owned that is  GODS' COUNTRY  to Me!! Havent Killed anything yet, but have only been "Hunting" 4 years or so. Great White Hunter I am Not, and I am anything But Ashamed of the fact. I realize one of these days, the "Art Huritis"  :rolleyes:   wont let me do a lot that I do now, but being 46, I will fight it Tooth & Nail!! I Truely Love Archery, and the Outdoors!! And I  AM  going to teach My now 3 Year old Granddaughter How to Shoot, Hunt...If She Wants, and pass on what Woodsmanship I have!! God is watching Over Me Now, and I Truely Thank God Everyday for being able to do what I Can do!!  

[stringstretcher]

Two years ago, when the swine flu thing was going around, I got sick, really sick. Did not go to the doctor, just took some over the counter medicine and stayed in bed a couple of days and went back to work.

About 4 months later, I and others noticed that I was doing everything but falling over when I walked around in corner, or down between isles, and when a large group of people would gather in the store, the movement would drive me crazy with dizziness.

After going to work for a couple of months more, it got worst, to the point that they had to bring me home, an hour away from where I worked.

After a year of testing, medications, MRI and MRI, they finally found that my left side vistibular function on that side had been partially destroyed by the virus,,or so they thing.  I went death in that ear and really had to struggle to stand up.  Could not, and still can not walk in a straight line.

They have done 2 (can only have one more) injections of gentimicin in my left inner ear to completely kill that sides function, and hopefully my right side will pick up and read what is necessary to maintain my balance

Well it is not working.  I am trying different things now, to get me back in the woods but really having a bad time before light and after light.  I left this morning after going up yesterday and putting trail markers out, to try and get to my stand before light (ground only hunting not), and had to turn around and go back to the truck, only about 50 away at time.  I had fallen twice, hurt my ankle and my wrist, and got sick from the motion of the light going around in the wood.  I just can not find my feet.

But as many of you have said, I will find a way, and not give up.  I may become a 9 to 5 hunter, but I will find a way to get out.

Thanks for sharing everyone.  It is great to hear the accomplishments of those that has the desire to not give up.

[Hud]

After rehabitation from a car accident, I convinced that we are capable of achieving just about anything we want.

I know there are some very good organizations that are experienced in helping individuals with disabilities get involved wiht bowhunting, and other activities. The Physically Challanged Bowhunters of America is one. If you know someone that needs help, give them a call.

 http://www.pcba-inc.org/

[BOWMARKS]

Charles  I am the guy on the ATV I realy do not like it but that is the only way.  

When a siezure auto accident put me in my current condition about ten years ago it took me two years to dig myself out of the dumps and get back into life.

I came back to archery fully into traditional giving up the wheels and enjoying much much more. I had always been a right handed shooter and continued as such until I came up with diabetes which shortly after took the sight away from my right eye. I then took on a left handed bow then shooting with two fingers now scince I am missing the first digit of my middle finger.

Things have had to be adjusted in my hunting and shooting techniques but I have been succesfull a couple times.  

I now have adjusted my equipment and hunting areas to suit what is now manditory.It took some time but as I have said "If You Got a Mind To Do It You Will"  

Sometimes it is very hard to get motivated so you take a couple days off but I always seem to get back into the flight of things. Can not see ever giving this wonderfull sport up.    

I must also give a great Thank You to all of my old friends and new buddies that have helped me thru my lousy times and I know will always be here to continue keeping me going.      

I will pray for your success in your struggle.