ARC Club Meetings and Social

ARC Club Meetings and Social:

Thursday, April 19th, 2012 at the Medical Mall Café’ at 6:30pm (You are welcome to run beforehand) Mellow Mushroom served during meeting. Guest Speaker: Brian Hicks - Paralympian, Tri-Athlete, and Veteran.

Biography- Brian Hicks

I am a 40 year old civil engineer from the town of Pike Road just outside Montgomery, AL. I am married to my wife Teresa of 19 years, and I have two sons Joel, 16, and Justin, 14. I was deployed in 2003 to Iraq with the 161st Area Support Medical Battalion, and after my injury in 1998 it was something I really thought could not happen. You see I was attempting in July of 1998 to remove a rifle from its case when it went off blowing through the case and nearly blowing my leg off. I underwent several surgeries to repair the extensive damage, and the doctors were able to mend me well enough for me to fight to stay in the Army. The only problem I faced besides the occasional residual bone pain was a nerve condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) which is a very painful nerve condition. A person who has RSD experiences unrelenting pain that makes it feel like the incident just happened. I jokingly referred to it as my personal Groundhog Day movie because everyday seemed just as painful as the last.

After four years of treatment the doctors had brought the RSD under control and we thought that chapter was over. I was commissioned as a First Lieutenant and after attending Officer Basic I was sent with my unit overseas to Iraq. In June 2003 while on a convoy from Camp Udairi, Kuwait to Camp Bucca, Iraq, me and my NCOIC hit a ditch across the road at 60 mph that caused a violent wreck and severe impact to my lower back and head. Initially neither of us thought we were hurt and were fortunate to be able to drive the remainder of the way to the base. About two weeks later I realized the RSD did not go away as we had thought but merely had gone dormant waiting to be awakened. In fact it had been reawakened and now I was experiencing a level of pain no medication could touch.

From 2003 to 2008 I underwent several surgeries to deal with bone and tissue damage that the RSD was causing. Of these the most significant were the installation of a Spinal Column Stimulator in 2004 to deal with the pain that had not responded to any form of treatment and the Below Knee Amputation that was done in May of 2008 after the RSD cut the blood flow to remaining bone and tissues in the left leg. I now spend my current training time learning to use my new running leg the VA purchased for me, learning to swim again, and learning to bike again. I believe my rapid progress can be credited to my faith and the support of my wife Teresa and my two sons Joel and Justin. I completed in a local 5ks about six weeks after getting my running leg, and I continue to compete in half marathons and triathlons. I am excited about continuing competition triathlon, and I hope to be an example to my children that no matter what difficulties we face, we only fail if we give up. I hope to continue to participate as a member of Team USA Paratriathlon Team in 2012 raising the bar on my fitness level and setting the stage to become an elite member of Team USA.