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expecting “Orissa” or “Bengal”
. “
Pinner, North East London” was the
reply.
We heard that there was an exhibition of the prosthetics made for the
athletes by Otto Bock
who also made mine and,
no doubt as a valued customer, we were ushered to the front of the
queue. They showed me the latest technology for a leg for an above
knee amputee, complete with a running blade and new foot, called a
Genium which was a major improvement on my C-Leg
. Was this my Aladdin’s
cave? Adopting the same approach as in a mobile phone shop, as my
leg is five years old, I asked if I could have a free upgrade. “If you give
us a cheque for the price of a cheap BMW, we can certainly oblige.”
‘Cheap’ and ‘BMW’ are not normally associated. “So, how about the
blade or the foot for my existing leg?” I haggled. “Sorry, they are not
compatible with your leg.” Technology!
I then spotted a basketball wheelchair where an instructor was
showing visitors the basics in a static chair. I took my turn. First, she
showed me how to dribble (the ball!) in the stationary chair. Then I
had to go through the motions of propelling the chair and dribbling
together. I found that I could do this. Then she said that I needed to
look around so as to be able to pass the ball and I had to shout out the
number of fingers that she held up. Cazzie said that by now there was
the glint of competitiveness in my eye (not influenced at all by the fact
that the instructor was a pretty girl and man’s innate desire to impress
the fairer sex). Those sports afternoons with Gurkhas all came flooding
back. If I could not afford a new leg and running blade, this was a
great sport to try.
I have had my first session with the local club in Aldershot. The 14
others there have been playing for between one and three years so I am
in at the deep end but it is great fun and good exercise. Fielding an
over 60’s team at Rio is as certain as pigs flying. Or maybe a Gurkha
team?
The 2012 Olympics and Paralympics intend to inspire a generation
and, even though I may not be of the generation that it is intended to
inspire, wheelchair basketball is the legacy of the Games for me.
Amputees in Action
subsequently asked if I would like to be considered
for the part of an organ-grinder in the film version of
Les Miserables.
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