Introduction

Julie was one of five athletes at OAS’ Crank Camp in August. As a new athlete with OAS, Julie was connected through a friend as she began recovery after losing her leg and applied for a lesson this summer. Currently Julie and her spouse, Sarah, reside in Springfield but are in the process of relocating to Bend. The OAS team is stoked to welcome Julie into the community! Read more below to learn more about Julie and her experience with Crank Camp.

Was this your first season with OAS?

Yeah it was my first season, I just had my amputation on the 20th of May and am getting casted for my prosthetic tomorrow! So probably in 6-8 weeks I’ll have my leg so I’m pretty excited.

Are you planning on joining OAS during the winter then?

Oh, definitely. I’ve never been skiing before, but I’m really excited to learn how to do the adaptive skiing.

What have been some previous activities you’ve done?

Mountain biking, road biking, triathlons, hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, and scuba diving.

I’m really excited about getting back into scuba diving. So I’m a dive master and that’s what I did for work for quite some time. I just have to figure out the whole weight distribution thing because I’m kind of lopsided now. I have to get in the pool with another dive master so we can kind of figure things out and the new logistics of diving. So as soon as we get that figured out, then back in the water I go!

Have you looked into other adaptive programs?

No I haven’t, I didn’t even know there were adaptive sports organizations from the get go. So after my amputation I was trying to figure out, how am I going to learn how to ride? It’s a two wheeled bike. How am I going to learn how to do these activities I did before my amputation? So once I learned about OAS I was really, really nervous but excited about getting involved! It got me thinking, I had to figure out how to do things the old way, but with my new body. So once I learned about OAS I thought “Oh my god this is so exciting”. So now it’s about learning new things with my new body, which is really exciting.

When I figure heard of the adaptive bike, I just thought, I don’t want this, you know? Because that was me saying I don’t want any help and that I can do it on my own. But then Melodie and Taylor explained to me that I’m trying to do what two legged people do with their strongest muscles in their body, and now I’m trying to do that with my biceps. So I may need a little help.

Crank Camp

Were there any expectations you had and how did those change?

I really didn’t have any expectations, because I didn’t know what to expect! To be honest I was pretty nervous about my skill level. Would I be able to keep up with the other athletes or not. But after the first 15 minutes or so, I realized everyone’s kind of on the same page and that it’s gonna be a really fun two days!

Is there a “Best Day Ever” moment from Crank Camp for you?

When I was riding on the Tiddlywinks trail because that’s when I really got in sync with my bike, which was the bowhead RX. I just went over some jumps and got air – all three tires off the ground. I just felt really accomplished and that this is something that I want to pursue. It was just so much fun, regardless of all the crashes that I had which I completely lost count of!

Even when I did crash, it was an opportunity for me to be okay with that and not apologize and be able to ask for help. Which is a really, really hard thing for me to do. So I think the highlight was basically just feeling one with my bike and going with it. Which with my previous stand-up mountain bike, before I lost my leg, I never really felt that way before.

How was it working in a group with other athletes?

It was fun being with other athletes, feeling like I belonged and was with a group. That I wasn’t an outcast or a minority.

Did you only ride the Bowhead RX?

I was looking at the Mako as well and the day before Crank Camp started I rode with Taylor.

Were there staff or volunteers you mostly worked with?

Yeah, I was working with Taylor and a volunteer, they were in my pod and it just made me feel comfortable. And you know, of course, I felt like I was giving them a workout with them having to help with things. But they were just amazing and never once made me feel like a burden or anything. Just very helpful and not only with helping me get upright again but also helping me navigate some really hard obstacles, big rock gardens and such. They were spotting me and making me feel safe.

They were amazing staff and it was nice over the weekend having consistent people that you knew. They got to know me and what I needed help with, what my strengths were, and what my weaknesses were. It was good to work with the same people over the entirety of the weekend because it was kind of like we were a little team of ourselves. Instead of getting a new staff member the next day who has to rebuild that relationship.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community?

I’d like to let people know that just because people have disabilities we’re not any different and we can do things just like everybody else, but in a different way. I think that’s the biggest thing that I’d like to get across to people is, don’t look at disabled people as pathetic or their existence is their wheelchair or crutches or whatever. That’s not who we are. My spouse has told me lots of times, “you’re still Julie, you’re just missing a leg. Nothing has changed about you and you’re still the same person, your body’s just a little different.”

So yeah that’s the biggest thing, I want people to understand that we have physical challenges, but we can overcome those challenges and still have fun just like everybody else.