Dear tinbasher:Great to hear everyone's stories especially to hear that in every case getting back in the saddle was a huge positive milestone for folks.
Paul I can relate to the family issue. They love you, they are scared for you and want to protect you, that's understandable. But, they are looking at your disability from the outside and they see a changed and maybe in their eyes, a less independent or able person and in the case of a heart attack a "sick" person. You understand your disability differently from the inside out. I knew that although some of my body was uncooperative or just plain useless, I still was the same person.
It took some time to get this over to family (not my wife who "got it" right away). They (most of them) now understand that it isn't the length of a life that's important it's the quality. We know our own limitations better than anyone else and most of us are not going to do anything stupid.
Keep working on them, let them come here and see these posts, they will hopefully come around.
I need to work out a way to carry my fly fishing gear, I didn't even wet a fly last year the weather was so poor.
All the best.
I looked up a local flyfishing club here in Casper.
It seems that they have a program where club members go out of there way to take dissabled fly fisherman out fish at least once a month in the warm season.
I volunteered to help in that program. It seems they have handicap accsess set up on private land. and the way i understand it they also have float trips on the platte river.
I have been told that the fishermen might make 20 hookups a day. Now that's not bad fishin!
It's just a way to give back a little and do some extra fishing myself.
I can't get out in the fast water anymore but i still manage to land a few.
A dead drift works great here but the slow water makes me work a little harder on cast accuracy.
Some times i trailor my flies( tying a wet fly on first and a dry fly behind it) so that i can fish different depths on the same cast.