im_shocked

Hello everyone,I was on Huntingnet quite a few years ago but got down and discouraged when i faced the reality I couldn't hunt and had to give up my passion for bowhunting and archery.My screen name at the time was NCEMT for any of ya that might remember me that were here then(2003-2006 timeframe).I became disabled after a back injury working as an EMT on the ambulance.I've had three spine fusions,L3-L4,L4-L5 andL5-S1 numerous injections,discectomy,etc etc and received a spinal chord stimulator which is wonderful.Anyway,I'm still disabled,live with chronic pain and restrictions but am better than i was.I became determined i was going to hunt again and get back into the sport i loved more than life-archery.My son wasn't getting any younger and wasn't going to let the years slip by and me not teach him more about my love for the outdoors,hunting,bows,guns and fishing.This past Christmas we both got compounds and he's doing great and loves it.(He's about to turn 14)I'm shooting almost as good as i once did,thanks to God,great doctors,determination and work.I'm able to shoot 60lbs which is a huge accomplishment from not being able to lift over 5 lbs!We have an urban archery season where i am in VA and it comes in in my area Sept 3rd.I can't wait!Well,i just wanted to say hello to everyone and if you're disabled or have back issues,would like to talk,or i can help in anyway,please feel free to contact me.I'm looking forward to getting back active with some of the old members here as well as ones that have come along since I left.If you or someone you know is struggling to try to hunt or giving up-NEVER give up.Like the old saying,where there's a will there's a way.My fellow hunters:don't let that will fade!I let things get me down for years,and granted i still have alot of limitations but I'm determined it's not keeping me down altogether anymore.Everyone have a blessed day and like I said,feel free to comment back here or contact me if I can be of any help whatsoever.

Oldtimr

Go get em, you won't ever forget the days you hunt with your son and neither will he.

im_shocked

Thank you and very true.

CalHunter

Congrats and may God continue to bless you!

PaJack

I'm a disabled hunter also,I've had MS since 1987 and in a powerchair for the last 19 years. I hunt deer,turkeys and woodchucks all from my ATV! Attitude is every I learned years ago too do what I can,when I can. I hope someone takes you up on your offer...

im_shocked

Thank you CalHunter.God bless you and yours as well.

im_shocked

Nice to"meet" you PaJack.That is awesome that you are hunting from your atv!You're exactly right about attitude.I wish you in advance a prosperous season.

stalkingbear

I realize this is a old post, but feel I need to respond. I too am disabled and lifelong hunter. After a guy that had drank his lunch failed to get stopped & hit me with a truck at work hen I was in a designated walkway, he still failed to get stopped (must have been REALLY hungry while DRINKING his lunch), I got crushed between the new Superduty and the concrete building wall. The drs said I'd NEVER walk again, but after several surgeries & 2 years I had learned how to walk again & was not only walking, but back to work! Needless to say, after being fused up almost all lumbar region, I blew my back out again 2 more times trying to work and they medically retired me with 100% disability. I also was forced to give up my 1 man gunsmith shop at that time. I'm ALL EARS when somebody mentions hunting methods, places that accommodate disabled hunters, and anything along those lines in general.

ruralcarrier4x4

I haven't gone hunting since I became disabled. I was a ruralcarrier with USPS and after an MRI showed a cyst in my spinal cord, caused by a birth defect called Arnold Chiari Malformation, a neurosurgeon talked me into getting the surgery with a speech about if I didn't get the surgery one day I would be in a wheel chair. Well 2 years after the surgery I was hit with constant back pain and ended up needing a second surgery for Tethered Cord syndrome where they disconnected my spinal cord from my tail bone. I'm able to walk and do most things but if I'm on my feet for more than 30 minutes I'm in severe pain between my shoulder blades. I was forced to retire under a disability only 3 years after that initial surgery and I had no symptoms before that first surgery. I wished I never listened to that surgeon ! But now my son is 17 and I'd like to find a Christian hunters club in Pennsylvania that we could both join so there would be other Christian men that could also help mentor my son and teach him how to hunt. This is my first time posting but I was encouraged when I saw im_shocked post. Thank you for your encouraging words !

Warped_N_Twisted

So I literally Made an account to post here. Long story short i was suffered a T-4 spinal cord injury in a motor vehicle accident when i was 10, am 26 now and while i have been hunting it has been mostly canned hunts on ranches where you are guaranteed to shoot an animal. i would like for nothing more than to be able to hunt fair chase, but can't figure out a good way of doing so. If you guy have any ideas i would appreciate it if you could share then. I thought about getting a trackchair but can't find a cheap one that dosen't cost more than a arm and a leg. All i want is to be able to hunt with my dad before he is unable to do so because at that point i probably won't hunt again as he is the one that encourages me to get out and do what hunting and shooting i can.