Pain Control

Hi there Steemit community, my name's Tim. I have already posted a couple of things on here but it is only now, thanks to another Steemer @elyaque that I understand a little better how Steemit works so I thought I’d introduce myself properly.

Here goes.

I'm 42 and just under 19 years ago, in January of 1998, I had a nasty motorcycle accident which, amongst other injuries, left me with a paralysed left arm. 6 years later, after a number of unsuccessful nerve repair operations, I requested an amputation.

In the beginning I believed that my arm would start to work again and this feeling protected me from the harsh reality of living the rest of my days without it. I had always been an active person into rock climbing, windsurfing, racing motorcycles, running, swimming and football to name just a few and the thought of never pursuing my hobbies again was way too big to contemplate in those early days. I had always worked in the technical field having been an aircraft engine mechanic in the Royal Air Force and then a motorcycle mechanic as a civilian so dealing with the practicalities of life with one arm was just another interesting challenge to overcome, temporarily.

The real difficulty was dealing with the constant, 24/7 burning, searing pain I felt from my elbow to the very tips of my fingers. I couldn't believe it. It feels like I trapped my hand in a car door then set it on fire whilst hitting it repeatedly with a hammer, fun eh!

I was in hospital for just under a month and was given a combination of intravenous Morphine, pain pills and beta blockers, none of which actually took away the pain but they did put me in something of a zombie like state. The pill taking continued for the next ten months or so and, in a futile effort to lessen the pain, I combined the prescription drugs with any other substance I could find, mostly illegal. The pain remained as strong as ever but I was lost in a fog, unable to really engage with anything or anyone. I was insomniac and chain smoking, eating little and in a deep depression.

So it was that one morning in November that same year, reaching for my pills I had what can only be described as an epiphany. It occurred to me that I had survived a horrendous accident yet here I was killing myself with a dangerous cocktail of prescription and illegal drugs. Being somewhat of an impulsive sort I gathered up my pills and paraphernalia and threw them in the toilet, flushing before I could change my mind. I returned to my room and began the painful process of detoxing.

Clean and relatively clear I was still faced with the seeming insurmountable problem of how to cope with the pain. It was a vicious circle in that the more I tried to figure out how to ignore it, the worse it got. I needed a distraction.
Before the accident I had been a keen pool player; I had played for the local fire service team and enjoyed many wins. Not to put too fine a point on it, I was good. So when a friend of mine suggested we play I saw no reason not to and we headed to the nearest pub. A few hours, and pints later he had beaten me soundly but I had learned how to handle the cue one handed and, more importantly, the pain had moved further back in my mind while I played.
Over the months that followed I could be found in the local pool hall most days till closing time. I tried to keep the beer consumption to a minimum and enjoyed the distraction from the pain. I gained a good level and even returned to playing for my old team again. The problem was that the easier it got to play, the less of a distraction it became so the pain pushed through to the front of my mind again and I was back to square one.

A few years later I found myself on Margarita, Venezuela. I had come to the Island in 2006 in search of a new adventure and had had a ball until my business failed and I found myself broke and jobless. As luck would have it I overheard two older women talking on the street about how they couldn’t find a trustworthy carpenter. A lightbulb lit up in my mind.

A few years earlier I had completely renovated a house. It took three years and the hard physical labour coupled with learning all the new skills such as carpentry, plumbing and basic building had served to distract me from the pain. It had worked pretty well and I had enjoyed learning carpentry particularly so I politely asked them what it was that they needed to have made. The one lady went on to give me a long list of jobs and requirements as she was renovating her own house. At the top of the list was a closet so I offered to make one for her. She looked at my missing arm and shook her head. Feeling somewhat desperate I said that I would be happy to buy the materials and make the closet, if she liked it she could pay me, if not, she would lose nothing. She reluctantly agreed.

I spent the month that followed building everything from closets to cupboards, tables and chairs. I was working on the side of the road in front of her house and although the heat was intense I was so absorbed in what I was doing that I barely felt the pain and on top of this I was getting a great deal of free publicity. That was the beginning of HANd SOLO

Over the last 8 years I have made all sorts of things…..

The more challenging the project, the greater the distraction from the pain but a couple of years ago I found myself wanting more. The majority of the contracts I undertake are relatively easy now so the pain comes pushing through and distracts me from my work, instead of it being the other way round.
I needed yet another challenge.

The village in which I live, El Yaque, is one of the top Kite Boarding and Windsurfing spots in the World. The 6 times World Champion Freestyle Windsurfer grew up here, and lives here still. There is constant wind almost all year round and the temperature is a perfect 32°C. I had been watching the water sports activities over the years and had even jumped on a windsurfer again, in light wind, but what I really wanted to try was Kite Boarding. I had a few lessons but none of my instructors could teach me how to do it with only one hand. I searched online from time to time for other one armed kiters but found no-one.

It wasn’t until February of 2014 that a good friend and Kite Boarding instructor offered to teach me. I was sceptical at first but said that I was willing to give it a shot if I could see him try it using only his right arm. His eyes lit up at the challenge and a few days later he donned a life jacket, keeping his left arm inside it and hit the water. He was out for no more than ten minutes and when he came back to the beach his arm was as hard as a rock and he complained that he could barely move it. I was elated. I had watched as he performed the necessary manoeuvres and knew it was possible. It was just a matter of learning them.

I’ll save some stories for another time but here are a few photos.

When I am on the water I feel no pain at all. I am so absorbed that it has no chance of breaking through. Since it is unlikely that I will ever master every single aspect of this amazing sport, it is also unlikely that it will ever cease to serve as the pain control I need.