'R we not gimps?'s topics - tribe.net

My depression booster

Joe — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:46:36 GMT

OK I been fighting depression last few months, I took up writing children's stories for a hobby. I just signed my first book contract. It will be published this March 09.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 2 replies

One of those days

Joe — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:41:20 GMT

I finally got my new power chair from Hover-Round, after a 2 year battle. I could put my old used one in retirement. 2 hours after the sales rep left, I decided to see how good it does going down the hill to check the mail. Went out on the porch, and started down the ramp, misjudged the width of the new chair. Got to close to the edge, my chair slips off the side of the ramp. The chair, and myself went tumbling across the yard. Now I developed a phobia of using my new chair.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 9 replies

>if this recession turns really bad you're well ahead of all those softies< ha ha.

Amped — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:14:09 GMT

i like that.

it's kinda like we're all in training for when the shit hits the fan.

i allready could care less about:

a cold, the flu,or a fever blister that will take a whole WEEK to heal up or
stubbing my real toe. that darn pain just hurts SO bad.

that kinda stuff.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 10 replies

wow!

Amped — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:51:17 GMT

i spent quite a bit of time yesterday (i type slowly) saying hi, filling everyone in on my progress, and generally trying to wake the tribe up a bit.

low and behold, i check today, and no new post.

dummy. i must have forgotten to click submit.

anyhow......hope everyone is progressing in a forward and positive way.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 1 reply

helpful link

Amped — Sun, 18 May 2008 15:17:23 GMT

http://www.stumps.org/

stumps are us.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 0 replies

a little reading

Amped — Sun, 18 May 2008 15:15:58 GMT

After reading Tip Thiboutot's article "Snow Rules, Gimp Doesn't" (March 2002) and becoming aware of his feelings about my use of the "G-word" in two previous articles, I just couldn't help myself—I had to respond. His opinion casts a revealing light on our society's grappling with the G-word and the physical and cultural dynamics surrounding it.

I suppose it's the contrast between where I was just after my injury and where I am now that presents such an affinity for the word. It is difficult for me to capture the level of dread I initially held about being a gimp. By virtue of misinformation, stereotypes, and a stigma of self-denigration or insult, it isn't difficult to see how the word invoked thoughts of embarrassment, shame, and able-ism. Early in my gimp career, I fell directly into this school; using the G-word was absolutely forbidden and strictly avoided.

But, over time, I have lightened up. This has allowed me to accept the change and find the beauty within the belly of adversity, thus opening a certain window of irony. To chuckle rather than grimace about a "graphic hygiene" mishap, for example, rinses away the pity, sympathy, and all that perceived negativity I attached to being a gimp. Today I am no longer hypersensitive about the G-word. To publicly refer to myself as a gimp actually represents a relief.

That's why Thiboutot's opinion of the word doesn't fit how I feel. Truthfully, I have read and reread his articles and frequently have difficulty figuring out what this smart man is talking about, but his old-school reference to the word gimp as a "betrayal of self-consciousness related to disability" is passé.

The G-word is being renovated. Traditionally "an awkward metaphor for human limitations," today gimp can be a compliment or a term of respect. At the Boca Raton (Fla.) tennis tournament, I polled 40 people on how they felt about the word; none was offended. However, most reserved it for use among gimps rather than nongimps. I tend to agree. For the most part, though, I believe someone who has been initiated, spent quality time with us, and paid some gimp dues, if you will, can openly use the word without offending.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with the word as long as the context in which it is spoken is positive. In my articles, I have used gimp as a sign of affection. I said it to challenge, not reinforce, discrimination; not as antidisabled, self-hating prejudice, but in defiance of it. There was no intent to offend. Simply put, it is a term of endearment, not an insult.

The G-word holds a wide range of uses: gimp parking, gimp entrance, gimp section, gimp jokes, gimp stories, and the gimp sports network. You've got the gimp movement, gimp humor, gimp anger, gimp support groups, gimp groupies, gimp sex, token gimp, gimp reality, and gimp-on-gimp crime. And don't forget the new basketball recruitment ad campaign, "Got Gimps?" Great, huh?

As I also intended in my articles—if you will allow—the word can prompt some joyful laughter.

A process is underway to eschew the boring conventions that gimp can only mean one thing. To me, the gimp does not "live primarily in the biased eyes of ignorant beholders who choose to see a pitiable individual with limitations." To proclaim yourself as a gimp is to identify yourself as real, authentic, uncut, and hearty. Sprinkling your language with the G-word is a way to keep it real. Thought becomes stunted in the absence of irony. The G-word will be with us for years, reminding us of life's successes and tragedies, our chutes and ladders, and the irony of it all.

I hope this article doesn't ruffle Tip's gimp plumage too much, as he is one of the greatest gimps we will ever know. He has done so much for us, competing as one of the best wheelchair basketball players of his day, writing articles to edify the masses, and existing as a successful disabled individual in an able-bodied world. Unquestionably, gimp or not, he is a role model.

But when it comes to using the G-word, Tip, with all due respect, if I may suggest, 'er, excuse me for sayin' it—but, lighten up! 'Cause remember, when it comes down to it—gimps rule!

Oliver Wendell Holmes set the tone when he said, "A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged. A word is instead the skin of a living thought that may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used."

Yes, Holmes's words are sound, but perhaps the assessment of the G-word is best captured by the unrefined savant George Carlin when he said, "Hey—it's just a word."

Randy Snow is a ten-time U.S. Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships winner.

What's your take on the "g"-word? Tell us!

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posted in 'R we not gimps? - 0 replies

Official gimp joke thread.

Amped — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:13:52 GMT

what did the snail say when he went for a ride on the turtle?

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 1 reply

Gidday

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:11 GMT

Hola Peeps out there in Gimpland.

Im new here so I thought I would drop a line and say Howdy <dont miind my feet on the coffee table>.

About me...Im a 30 something disabled vet. My back is a crooked as a politician thanks to an army injury. Im moving towards that inevitable fusion because my first laminectomy/discectomy didn't take all that well. I hate taking pain meds because they put me to sleep at work and cloud my judgement...what I do though is nightly soaks in my hot tub with a few beers =D and that seems to help somewhat. I still exacerbate and am bed ridden about 1-2 times per month, and then Im loaded on percs and cyclobenzqaprine.

Regardless, my days of rough animal sex with my wife, rugby, and skiing are activities of my past =( On the brighter side, I missed out on going to Iraq where some of my fellow comrades were killed (MQ, RIP, 2003, Fallujah).

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 0 replies

annaversary reacton

theCryptofishist — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:05:26 GMT

I'm just pissed off as the date of my severing gets closer. I withdrew from the burningman tribe because I just couldn't take the idiots there. And I made an ass of myself several times.

POOOOOOOOOOOF!

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 7 replies

welcome to new members

Amped — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:07:08 GMT

got a story for us? let's here from you when you get a minute.

thanks.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 5 replies

Warm greetings

ToughBroad — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:28:19 GMT

I just found this tribe a few days ago and am incredibly happy to join. This is the sort of place I think I've been wanting since the fudge hit the fan. Thank you for letting me share in your reality, I'll try to be good :)

I'm writing this at bedtime, which involves a certain type of mind-warping cocktail, so I will return during a relatively soberer time.

Hello, and good night.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 3 replies

jameseyes' story

Amped — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 22:21:55 GMT

pt 1.

currently 57 years of age.11 years of crazy overactive childhood. 39 year long adrenaline junkie. surfed all over the world. hardcore wave hog. snowboard freak. almost died in the avalanche chutes at mammoth.skateboarder.runner.biker.hiker.paraglider.never a dull moment. fitter at 45 than at 25.

also had years of coke,quaaludes,and jack daniels.many years.at the same time very into alan watts,TM,raising my spiritual self.only had one Job job.boxboy.lasted 7 weeks. pulled weeds,
painted house, opened pottery studio in australia,painted houses again here in cali. made pots again. got married, had a son. shifted to metal sculpture. now making jewelry, but unlike anything you have seen before.

may 1st 2000. 50 years of age. bad paragliding crash.solid rock .saved by hamburger eater 7 miles away with binoculars.choppered out . hospital staff says i had about ten minutes of blood
left in the body.

gotta go pick my son up from school. more later.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 25 replies

)^( playa gimps )^( tribe started!!!

Mindfunk — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 08:58:57 GMT

http://tribes.tribe.net/playagimps is a tribe for us gimps that yearn to burn. swing by and join the forum on recourses, ideas, and wild stories!

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 9 replies

rv how too show on bmir

Mindfunk — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 04:11:21 GMT

yurs truely will be doing a tech show for rvs and i wuld include any questions about special playa needs as well. anyone with requests, send me a message, also if you are a gimp, and a burner (or planning to go) i expect to see you listed on my tribe )^(playa gimps)^( i can't get a good conversation going by myself. well ok i do that all the time, just looking for actual interaction)

sick and wrong thought of the day, when you get "the look" from someone, you know that look. it says :aww you poor thing" look em dead in the eye and yell TIMMY!!!!! boy does that make em squirm ;P

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 4 replies

The Wonders of Modern Technology

Wolfie — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:00:06 GMT

I had quite the experience on the bus last night. I was coming home from work at about 10pm. Some of the busses in Vegas have these automatic wheel locks for wheelchairs, and this was my lucky night. To make a long story short, when the driver attempted to release the wheel lock, the handle broke off in his hand! They had to empty the entire bus, and some clown in the back started bitching about wheelchairs and busses and how they shouldn't mix. Well, I lied and told him I got in this wheelchair fighting for his country so that he could have the right to say something so stupid. The rest of the passengers laughed him off the bus and gave me high fives on the way out. Anyway, they called in a supervisor to try to release my chair, he tried for 20 minutes with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers to no avail. They finally called in the mechanics, who showed up an hour later. They freed me in seconds, but I had been stuck on the bus for two hours. So fair warning gimps, if your city bus has automatic wheel locks, insist that the driver not use them and strap you in instead!

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 1 reply

Howdy!

Wolfie — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 07:57:01 GMT

Hey folks, hope you don't mind me crashing the party. I just kinda stumbled upon this tribe, and it looks like a great place to vent, and maybe inspire in the process. I was involved in a serious motorcycle crash about 17 years ago....broadsided by a Buick at 50 MPH. My right leg was amputated, my left knee is more metal than bone, fractured skull, two broken arms, my heart dislodged from it's cavity (cardiac ICU for 2 weeks), and i ruptured my spleen. I've been on crutches for years, but due to age, i'm primarily using a wheel chair now. I suffer from a little PTSD, but nothing too serious. I work full time on the phones as a salesman and make a comfortable living, and I run my own business on the side selling helicopter tours. Anyway, just introducing myself. Ya'll seem like a great bunch of people that i have some things in common with. I hope to go to Burning Man for the first time this year, I just need to figure out the logistics of it.....I'm in a standard wheelchair, no fancy motor or nothing, but by the summer, I should have something feasible put together.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 6 replies

Fucking hate using fucking public toilets

theCryptofishist — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:48:19 GMT

yeah, captain obvious here.

as you were.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 4 replies

Wheelchair questions

Joe — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 01:43:32 GMT

OK since Medicare kicked in this November I am trying to get a power chair. Last year HoverRound came to my house let me sample on thier chairs. Found it really comfertable, the sales rep told us to wait for Medicare to kick in.

So in November I called them, filled out all thier paper work had my general doctor, neurologists, and my occupational therapist fill out all the paper work that Hoverroung sent 3 or 4 different times Now that Medicare approved it they need a copy of my secondary insurance. So now blue cross says OK. HoverRound calls and because neither insurance states they are my secondary insurance they can't accept either of them.

So can anyone tell me if they are worth all this trouble or should I just goto a local place?

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 2 replies

any new years wishes?

Amped — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:26:58 GMT

i'm hoping to get that intrathecal pain pimp the 1st week of feb.

also hoping you all have a better '08.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 8 replies

Feeling alive again

Joe — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:05:42 GMT

I have been feeling very depressed ever since I had to quit working. I was amazed that work meant so much to me, never fantasied about living off the system. Now that I am living on the system it is very depressing. Get really angry when people act like I won the lottery get paid for not working. Then some people who are collecting disability for made up injuries, or illness.

Well last month on another forum about PLC programming this guy suggested I should maybe offer to teach PLC programming, that is what he did, now he is making $2000 per student. Later I started thinking about it, realize that is what I have done close to 20 years.

Then a woman I started talking suggested maybe start writing children's stories. My wife had mentioned the same thing mention the same thing a couple of weeks earlier. So decided to try, actually felt good, Hadn't written anything since grade school, brought back alot of good memories. I am close to finishing my first book, close to 10 chapters.

So have to say these days I starting to feel alive again, not like my life has ended.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 6 replies

ok my turn

Mindfunk — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:28:06 GMT

i guess i would be a part time gimp. and believe me i count my blessings daily, i have always been in close proximity to gimps at large and am full of inspiring gimp stories but "it couldn't ever happen to me" famous last words right? i made a carrier out of making life better for various gimps as a vehicle modification specialist. seems nobody really got the concept that a piece of equipment really needs to be individually tailored to a particular gimp before my shop opened. i have created some real beauties too, gull wing mini vans, bus sized rvs sports cars, 4x4s, if you wanted to drive something, i would figure out how to make it happen! i always focused on style first and "the equipment" after,
i remember one case in which this 21 year old quad had a van that i had stylized but wasn't too well suited to his needs, i repaired the thing weekly it seemed, after being called to his house yet again i found the lift circuit board soaked with either beer or bong water, the kid's father says in an angry voice "why can't you get your friends to take better care of your shit???!!!" well those that know me will tell you that i engage mouth before brain sometimes and this was just such a time, i replied with "whats he going to do? get up and slap them????" well the dad looked like he was slapped and the kid had waited for someone to point this out for years apparantly . i ended up designing an indestructible vehicle for him that really did meet his needs and was as fun as he wanted it to be. never heard from them again except occasionally at the 7-11 (turns out we are neighbors now) damn thing looks showroom new :) well it turns out that accessible motor homes are a hot item and nobody really does them. aha! a challenge??? to i built 3 or 4 of em and now have lifelong friends because of it, had i not started the fifth i would be on this tribe as a resource. the definition of irony in my opinion. i was putting a lift into a redesigned diesel pusher when it fell out onto my head! people used to joke that i would make a good gimp one day as i knew all the equipment. well irony struck. i now can't feel my right arm and have serious muscle spasms along with the occasional loss of the ability to stand and or walk long/far. like i said quite fortunate. i need a scooter for long term or distance stuff like the collage course i am starting in january but i can get through an albertson"s ok usually on my own two feet. this will get worse eventually and i will deal but i remind myself of what could have been as often as i can and have become a ferocious advocate of the disabled. i am working on some way of enforcing parking laws because it is way out of hand now

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 22 replies

just feel like a bump in the road

Joe — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:29:02 GMT

Hello y'all just was sent an invitation to this tribe, so here I am. Not really been injured like most you that I read their stories. Though do live in a wheelchair most of the time, so I guess should tell my story now.

about 2 and half years ago came down with MS out of the blue. I was working 6 to 7 days a week, going to the gym 3 to 4 days a week..... never really had any sick days, or spent any time in the hospital, well except 18 years ago when I was involved in a huge ammonia leak at work which landed me in the hospital for a week. Well back to the MS story, woke up one morning felt fine, took a shower for work, got dressed, then went to put on my work boots and promply fell over and started throwing up. Spent a week in bed figured I had a touch of the flu. Couldn't walk or keep food down, then wife took me into ER, theyr an some test after they did a MRI came back with a brain tumor.

Then 3 days later after more test, and additional MRI had a neurologist come in with good news. No brain umor was just MS, hell I was stupid thought MS was no big deal. Within 6 months was in a wheelchair.

My whole life turned upside down had a dream job, worked as a industrial electrician specialized in machine automation, was a very hard to find local people who knew how to do this, the company I worked for a big electrical contractor who was paying someone from the bay area to do the programming.

Spent 2 years in front of the TV watching reruns of Law and Order, seen enough now could take the Bar Exam. Spent time to look over my life, and what to do next in my life. Knew that I did not want to spend the rest of my life like this. Considered going to college get my degree, but I figured was just a dream, couldn't get around campus in a wheelchair.

My wife that I should write kid books, since I would always tell kids stories out of my head. They seem to like them and I always found it fun to come up with these crazy stories. So decided to try writing them down, haven't finished it yet. On the third chapter now of "The Story of Browning the Seal and Funky Winkle bean"

So I will see if this will occupy my mind now....

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 13 replies

Myriad's Story

Ms_Myriad — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:30:01 GMT

I'm not really sure I have a right to be here. I was invited, and I call myself a gimp a lot, but that's mostly to remind folks.
You see, I look fine. I get around under my own power. Some days I'm downright limber. You have to look close with my shirt off to notice something's not right with my back. I have a double scoliosis curve, 38 degrees on the bottom and 42 on the top. I function because they mostly balance each other out, but I have 6' of person in 5'7" of body. Some days that hurts. Some days I almost break down and ask for a wheelchair. Normally maybe that wouldn't hurt so much, but I also have fibromyalgia. My muscles flare up and spasm for no reason. I'm tired, but I can't sleep. Then when I do sleep 18 hours pass before I wake again. My memory is spotty at bet, my mood tumultuous, and my immune system packed its bags and moved to Mexico without me. I've had at least one major immune crash which left me completely wiped of immunities (I caught whooping cough, which I had been previously immunized against, as a result).
So, there's nothing wrong with me. Some days I'm a perfectly strong, healthy, and surprisingly limber young woman. I feel good, I have energy, and I can go about my life as normal. Some days it's a monumental effort just to force myself to stand. I always LOOK fine though, and a lot of folks don't seem to know anything about fibro (including many doctors). I'm not damaged enough to really claim disability, just hurt enough to make everything more difficult than it should be. Nobody gives me unwanted pity, but many people think I'm a hypochondriac, or an outright liar. Some days I am SO grateful that nobody can see what's wrong with me and other days I wish I had something to point to: "See! This is why I hurt! This is why I'm slow! This is why I have a hard time doing normal things!"

So, there it is. None of my parts are missing and most of them even work more-or-less as they should most of the time. All of my scars are either the small bumps of laproscopic surgery or the jagged little reminders of minor moments of stupidity. I just have a never ending list of little symptoms that all add up.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 9 replies

Hello...

GyPsy-Nate — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 22:25:58 GMT

I am not a " Gimp " But my soon to be wife does have some disabilities.
I am going to take her to the Burn next year for her 1st time and I would like to make it as easy on her back and neck as possible.
What pointers can you give me to help us out next year?
Thanx for ya time

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 12 replies

My Story

Eddie11 — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:40:18 GMT

Sept. 1987 Me and a friend were driving around and saw some huge guy pounding on a woman about a quarter of his size. At first we were just going to head for a payphone and call 911 but saw the guy run off into an alley so we decided to turn around and see if she was ok. By the time we got to her she was already at a phone with the police. She told us she was ok so since the last thing we wanted to do was deal with the LAPD too we started to drive off. As we were leaving we saw the guy again behind a short brick wall so we could not see his lower body. He started screaming "Fuck with me now!" and I rolled up my window thinking this huge mofo(6'4 around 300 lbs) was about to hop the wall and kick the shit out of me. Then he lifted his arm and I saw he was holding a Ruger 10/22 rifle then suddenly opened fire on the car. I was hit twice one was a ricochet to the ribs and the other hit my chest. It all happened so fast I really had no idea I was shot until my shirt became soaking wet with blood. We drove around the corner to a gas station mini mart to call for an ambulance. Thinking the guy was still behind us I tried to run into the store but suddenly fell on my face. It was then I realized the bullet hit my spine and was paralyzed. I laid there waiting to die. I figured either I was going to bleed to death or he was going to catch up and finish me off. Luckily as I was lying there two ex-army medics pulled up and new how to position me to stop my lungs from filling up and kept me somewhat calm. Finally the ambulance got there and took me to the hospital. In the ambulance I kept falling asleep and the paramedic told me if I fall asleep I die. I really didn't care I felt like I just wanted to sleep worse then I had ever wanted to. It was a feeling I really hope never to go through again and really can't explain other than the HST quote: "The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.". There is NOTHING more fucked then being pulled out of an ambulance and have a guy wearing a badge that said Coroner ask if you were the body they called in early d.o.a. I did survive though and went through a night of hell in emergency surgeries and procedures. The doctors came in a couple days later and told me what I already knew. I was now a para and the chances of walking again after a complete spinal chord injury were between slim and none. I guess after all that being paralyzed was not as bad as the alternative though.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 22 replies

Crypto Fishys story

Amped — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:30:30 GMT

Some part of my story is told here: chukkasupport.blogspot.com/

And the prelude is in my tribe blog.

And somedays I don't want to tell my story. And somedays I wanna punch the people who take pity on me and push me up a ramp without asking. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 16 replies

GIMP what does it mean???

Joe — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:48:53 GMT

I was listening to a podcast by Violet Blue, she was saying how her publishers did not want to publish this one short porn story, due to the reference using the word gimp.

I guess over in the UK gimp is a reference to a submissive man, so are we really gimps?

just when I listened to her podcast made me laugh, thinking about this tribe.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 9 replies

Dave's Story

Dave — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:37:26 GMT

I was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on March 11th 2007. I was riding on highway 9, 4 miles north of Boulder Creek. I had a car partially drift into my lane, at which time I met up with the side of their car. I was going about 35-40 mph, the car probably about 50 mph. I was on a 2004 west coast chopper, at 9 foot long and quite heavy, it's not the most nimble of bikes. The bike pretty much sideswiped the car, with my left extremities in the middle of the 2 vehicles. I broke my left tibia in 2 places, fibia in a few places, broke and dislocated the left wrist, severed 2 of the 3 major arteries in my leg, and broke my pinkie finger. I have had 5 major surgeries since then, acquired some new steel plates and pins, and I have been through some painful physical therapy. I've had vascular grafts, skin grafts, and here pretty soon a bone graft. My only request when I was unloaded from the helicopter was that they try to save my leg....I got my wish, and now I have to work for what I wanted. Nothing in life comes easy! I have not walked in over 8 months, and that is a real pain....But I'm working to change that quickly. I had to use a wheelchair for the first 5 months, and I've been on crutches for the last 3.

Next surgery will be on December 20th to remove the last of the scar tissue from the finger and will allow me to regain 100% of all hand function. It works pretty good now, but the pinky finger only partially bends. It's a minor outpatient thing at Stanford done by Dr. James Chang (a great doc and surgeon, btw). Having a pinky finger that does not wanna bend is a real pain, you can't make a fist, hold a wrench correctly, it sticks out all odd like when you drink a beer, and the pinky hits the blinker switch when making a left...lol

Following not too long after that I have a major surgery on Jan 10th. with Dr. Bellino, who is the chief of trauma surgery for Stanford, he operated on me the day I was flown in. He will be removing the current external fixator, taking some bone from the inside of my hip, packing that bone into the areas that need it in my leg, and then he will give me a new fixator, yipee! It will involve a 3-5 day hospital stay at Stanford.

The problem I encountered was that you need the be able to bear weight through your bones in order to keep them dense. Once broken, as they start to heal they need some weight bearing going through them, or the signal to rebuild is not sent properly. The fixator I have bears my weight when I use the left, not the bone. If they did a bone graft and a plate, the plate would bear the weight and the bone would always have a weak spot waiting to haunt me later. The new fixator will allow weight to be beared through the bone, not the metal. This in conjunction with the bone graft should get me healed back to 100% (please note healed does not mean fixed, just "not broken"). The other thing is that the pins I have in me go all the way through the bone, the new ones will only go partially into the bone, thus promoting a faster recovery in the end.

And if you have read all that, then here is a lil bit about what I have taken away from this. It sucks to spend time being disabled, but I feel blessed that I will be able to return to somewhat normal functioning one day. There are many folks out there who do not have this option. I look at everything through a different set of eyes now, I have found a way to appreciate all the little things, and new way to appreciate all that I have. I hope that I can use my experiences and my talents together to find a way to help improve the lives of others. I already have a few things in mind...

I was at therapy and my therapist said that for training they had to spend a day in a wheelchair, and she said she was amazed at how hard it really was. I couldn't help but laugh a little under my breathe. I thought about the fact that even in one whole day, you don't get the full experience, granted I will give her many props for trying. There are so many little things an obstacles that you encounter in day to day, week to week, month to month life, it's hard to fathom them all. I have a tremendous respect for those who have to live in a wheelchair...I think everyone should have to have their legs bound for a month and be made to use one. Maybe that would start making people in this would treat each other with respect and kindness....I dunno, just a thought

And for all of you who thought this slowed me down, there are still hotrods getting built. The stick shift cars have been sold, or are being swapped over to automatics. That whole not being able to use a clutch thing bites. Now days I just have to work a little smarter, not harder, and know when to ask for assistance;) I've had way too much time on my hands, and the need to hear some horsepower rumbling has been overwhelming me, and the wife is tired of me melting the tires off the black truck in the driveway...

There have been so many people who have helped me through all of this, I owe a few favors now, but most importantly I owe the wifey! I couldn't have made it through all of this without her. She has sacrificed so much in order to help me, and given me so much strength. I will spend a lifetime working to repay her!

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 2 replies

happy thnksgiving to all you gimps.

Amped — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:39:32 GMT

time to count our blessings.

love to all.

james

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 0 replies

i need help with some pet peeves.

Amped — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 04:12:01 GMT

i have lots of friends who complain to me about things like,

i hurt my heel running the half marathon last week and have to take it easy for 2 or 3 weeks. 2 or 3 WEEKS! what a bummer man.

god this headache is killing me.

my neck has been hurting like hell for a week. guess i'll have to break down and see my chriopractor tomorrow.

etc.

and things like,

shit man Rincon was Perfect yesterday. we surfed for 3 hours and it was just so unreal.

god, i was up at Mammoth last week and it snowed everynight and left perfect powder every morning.

my new mountain bike rocks. we did Romereo canyon twice then hiked up to the hotsprings.

i can't seem to get used to this seeming insensitivity, and i sure as shit don't have any compassion for aches, pains, and the flu.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 3 replies

so I was getting off the bus - a drib and a drab

cruzzin — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:57:30 GMT

So I get off the bus after a long night of working, and some homeless begging asshole shouts to me from across the street and says. “Hey, you’d better stop pretending to be blind, and taking these people’s money!”

All this, because I was carrying my staff, and because I had stopped to make one comment to a sexy girl waiting for a late night cab that I liked her sparkly spandex.

So, not completely sure that he’s talking to me, I ignore him, and start reading the movie poster above my head. This ig-nant mofo comes across the street to confront me. Now, he’s just seen me reading the movie poster, and I’m wearing glasses. Not dark glasses, glasses.

So we have a very short conversation about it in which I explain that:
a. I’m not blind
b. I’m not spanging (spare changing)
c. What I do is none of his friggin business and he’d better step the fuck off

Amazingly, he stands his ground. Amazingly, because not only am I six feet, 270 lbs and most folks think I’m pretty friggin scary lookin, but I am carrying a 5 ft. long piece of metal in my hands.

He trundles off up the alley and shouts down the alley to the folks coming out of the bar “this guys not blind, he’s just pretending to be blind.”

Well, I decide that it’s best if I don’t shorten this fools life prematurely, because even though in prison there is all the sex you want for free, the food sucks and there’s no cable.

I go home, but I decide I’m pissed off. And, I decide that I had better nip this in the bud. I’m a street musician, and I do play out on these streets, and the last thing I need is some asshole out here spreading rumours about me.

So, I go up, find him, scare the living shit out of him, explain in no uncertain terms that not only am I not a spanger, I work three friggin jobs and that if I hear shit like this again, he is banned from the hill and Broadway permanently, because I am the fucking King of Broadway. Of course, that ban will take effect if I decide to leave him still breathing, which I may elect not to.

Well, then I feel bad. So I go back again. And this small miracle happens. I actually feel sorry for the kid, and a small bit of admiration for standing up to me, of all people, which took some serious cajones, and sticking to his guns.

So, I go back and I explain that I’ve been homeless, and I’ve been sick, and I supported myself as a musician, not spanging, and that I took any work that came my way, and that he was way too young to be out on these streets. And I gave him a dollar as a peace offering.

********

I carry the cane/staff because I have a bad back/feet legs because:
a. I severed my thigh with a skillsaw - which threw everything else out of balance including my back
b. landed on my head at 40 mph which caused (relevant to this) spinal compression
c. many, many car/motorcycle/bicycle accidents
d. played football - they taught us to put our helmet down and our face right in the numbers..

So, that's a dribble, and a drab..

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 2 replies

Having a hard time telling my story

cruzzin — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:01:20 GMT

So, I realized that maybe I was being a bit obtuse and nobody knew what the fig I was talking about.

The prospect of telling my story has awoken quite a rats nest of emotion in me, and I wonder if it has the same effect on anyone else.

partly because it's such a dang long list of shi-it

and partly because I've been thinking about this for some time - that giving voice to this list would empower me somehow, if nothing else perhaps acknowledge the power of my spirit, that I've survived all these things

I'm a writer, and I've a website where I post a lot of my poetry, because unlike my other work I don't anticipate making coin off of poetry, and thought perhaps that would be the place for it....but then it felt way too public

see, its not just one event - it's many, many events and situations over the course of my 45 years. And now, I find myself with serious trepidation - as if posting it, the list will somehow take on a life of it's own...

and, I think I deal with a lot of it by forgetting. by telling the story, I am remembering.

so, I feel I should so this, but I can't say when, and it may dribble out of me in small spurts, rather than one big rush...

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 11 replies

So what's the truth about Gimp Fetishists?

theCryptofishist — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:02:24 GMT

I'm a bit curious, but also a little apprehensive. I figure some are creeps and some are okay, I did have positive experiences with people into hair, as I have PCOS and that was an issue for a lot of my life.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 2 replies

so shall we all sit in a circle and tell our stories? :::j;-----)

Amped — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 00:57:03 GMT

i'll go 1st if you want.

posted in 'R we not gimps? - 3 replies

so we are a tribe.

Amped — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 22:01:19 GMT

thanks so much for joining Cypto Fishy,Alison, and Mindfunk. 1st dayers, seed poders.let's spread the word.

my hope is that we can create a tribe that can reach and help as many individuals as possible.
a place where we can talk with others who know what We are talking about. really Know, you know?

these would include all "disabled" persons, i.e.,

>Synonyms:banged up, bedridden, broken down, castrated, confined, cracked up, crip, decrepit, disarmed, done for, done in, game, gimp, gimpy, halting, hamstrung*, handicapped, helpless, hurt, imbecile, impotent, incapable, incapacitated, infirm, laid up, lame, maimed, mangled, mutilated, palsied, paralyzed, paraplegic, powerless, run-down, senile, sidelined, silenced, stalled, superannuated, taken out, unable, useless, weak, weakened, worn-out, wounded, wrecked<:::::::::::::::::::::::::l;-----) ha! from the dictionary.

not just we that limp.

anyhow......welcome and thanks again.

'R we not gimps?'s topics - tribe.net

My depression booster

One of those days

>if this recession turns really bad you're well ahead of all those softies< ha ha.

wow!

helpful link

a little reading

Official gimp joke thread.

Gidday

annaversary reacton

welcome to new members

Warm greetings

jameseyes' story

)^( playa gimps )^( tribe started!!!

rv how too show on bmir

The Wonders of Modern Technology

Howdy!

Fucking hate using fucking public toilets

Wheelchair questions

any new years wishes?

Feeling alive again

ok my turn

just feel like a bump in the road

Myriad's Story

Hello...

My Story

Crypto Fishys story

GIMP what does it mean???

Dave's Story

happy thnksgiving to all you gimps.

i need help with some pet peeves.

so I was getting off the bus - a drib and a drab

Having a hard time telling my story

So what's the truth about Gimp Fetishists?

so shall we all sit in a circle and tell our stories? :::j;-----)

so we are a tribe.

We are Gimpo!