What comes to mind when I say I'm a one-armed swimmer?

It is no secret that swimming is a big part of me. It not only was a good therapy to get me moving again after my legs were taken by CRPS, but it also made me realise how much I could accomplish if I put my mind to it. If I could teach myself to swim well enough over longer distances, using one arm and minimal leg movement, there was no limit to my abilities if I was willing to put in the work.  

I've proven my own strength to myself over the years, but putting myself to the test, pushing myself beyond my limits was the only way I could truly find out what was possible. Dancing did it, backpacking certainly did, swimming even more. I realised that even while becoming more disabled, I was still finding my own superpowers! I couldn't swim when I first got back into the pool 4-5 years ago. I had to figure out how to propel myself with one arm through the water. I watched paralympic swimmers, breaking down their strokes and tried to figure out the best one for me. To narrow down the most efficient stroke for my body, what works for one will not work for another: people with disabilities are even more varied than people without. One CRPS presentation will always be different from another, even if the same regions are affected and similar progression. 

 This is a few videos of me swimming, one from recently - this summer. The other is from a year and a half ago, while I was in the pulmonary rehabilitation hospital, where my stroke was rougher, and they weren't as encouraging of my high intensity efforts! When I tell people I go swimming, I don't think this is what they pictured after seeing how I get around on dry land! That is my rollator there at the end, my wheeled legs to navigate the world on dry land. 

Getting my Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant, part 1...

I have been cybernetically augmented with my neurostimulator implant now 3 years in December. It was fairly difficult, rather painful and unpleasant at times, long waiting and even longer recovery. Nonetheless, it was a success FOR ME in what I had wanted; though others may not grasp my goal not being a complete removal or huge reductions in pain. People may see my unchanging limitations as something to feel bad about, but I most certainly do not. Because I know where it used to be, how hard I had to fight every single day. How hard it was to put a smile on my face to not show how difficult and painful everything was. Before my batmobiel, before my rollator. Before my neurostim. 

You see, today my life cannot be further from that time, when everything was magnitudes more difficult. I fought like a trooper to do as much as I could, and paid the price. One single trip to buy some groceries, or to see my friend, would usually cost a week (often more) of flare. If I wanted to swim, it became so frustratingly difficult that I couldn't maintain it regularly. Shame too, because it was the biggest driver of my life! Swimming was where I found my power back, regained my confidence, asserted myself and found my younger self again. The younger me whose destiny was in my own hands. Those years of swimming, the fish growing up in Australia, surrounded by beaches and bush.