A Proud Father - Bow Hunting's Role in My Son's Road to Recovery!

You may recall that in 2010 I posted a thread on my Son's first bow hunt, where he bagged himself 2 animals from a pit blind within 10 minutes. The photo posted at the time is shown here.

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Since then he has been thoroughly hooked on Bow Hunting.

On the 7^th December 2011 he was involved in a tragic accident where his right leg was amputated above the knee at the scene by a truck. Through the assistance at the scene by an exceptional Doctor, and community members, his life was saved and he has made an incredible recovery. Through a brilliant positive attitude and outlook on life; and the support of friends, family and the community, he has taught us all how to handle adversity and that life can be even better after such an incident. He has never said why me?

One of the aspects that has played a role in his recovery is his bow and bow hunting, which he is still very passionate about. In less than 3 months from the day of the accident he is back at school and practicing with his bow, he is shooting just as well as he did before the accident, and has set himself the goal of bagging a Zebra this year. He is on his training leg (prosthesis) at the moment and should be getting the Rolls Royce version fairly shortly, with what he calls his 4x4 knee.

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The reason I post this thread is to highlight that Bow Hunting is something which we can all do irrespective of our situation which my Son, Ian (now 17), has proven. It requires dedication and commitment, which is carried through to the other parts of our daily lives.

As per my original post, this is one proud Farther and grateful that we still have a very avid Bow Hunter in our midst!

Malcolm

You have very good reasons to be very proud of your son.
It is very good to see that he is doing so well after such a tragic accident.
I hope he will get his Zebra this year and I am sure he will do very well in his life with such a fighting spirit and great attitude.

Looking forward to the reports about his successful hunts.

Malcolm
A story of overcoming adversity and succeeding against all odds.... wow!......, we often forget on how easy we have it... and how fortunate we truly are, life can change in an instant, and your sons never say die attitude is true inspitration to me, as it should be to all of us. There is an old saying that goes...When the going get tough the tough get going...This jumped to mind while I was reading your post.

Truly something that we can all learn a valuable lesson out of...
My best to you, your son and the rest of your family!

Malcolm, I am sorry to hear of your sons loss, but inspired by how he has chosen to handle it. Keep supporting him and I am sure he will continue to surprise you. Can't wait to see some pictures of that zebra!

nd

Awesome story. Congrats to your son for overcoming obstacles thrown at him during his young life. Tell him to keep up the good work and to post pics for us on his future kills with his bow.

Thanks for all the great comments. It is great to see such maturity from someone so young.....Very proud of him! It has certainly given me a new perspective on life. One needs to enjoy it with your family, and what better way than out on a bow hunt with your son.

I will certainly post photos once he manages to bag that Zebra!

Malcolm

Sorry to here about the accident but by what your saying he is one strong kid who will make the best of it.Sounds like he also has a great supporting family which also takes some strength to get through this.Looking forward to seeing his zebra pic's one day.That was my sons favorite animal he took when we hunted south africa.

Way to go Ian!!

Malcom,
What a prime example of good attitude and perseverance. It takes someone special to move forward in the face of adversity. One thing I have learned is that no matter how bad things seem, there is always someone out there that has it worst. Enjoy every moment with your son. You and Ian are an inspiration. I wish you both all the best.

Malcolm,
Ian is a very strong individual and has overcome a great deal of adversity. He sounds like an awesome young man that is an inspiration to all. Good luck to Ian in Africa and I look forward to seeing pics of him with his beautiful Zebra.