Del Bianco P&O's first fishing trip was a wonderful success. The weather was a little chilly but everyone caught enough fish for a nice dinner. Mostly bluefish, whiting, and one shark (caught and released safely). I know our friends and patients who came had a wonderful time. For Emma, going fishing was one of her dreams after her amputation and it was great to see her in action with her daughter. They caught more fish than anyone and taught me a thing or two. Next year we will get a little earlier start before it gets quite as cold as it was. 

Waiting for the fish to strike!

Even though it was cold, the sky was beautiful. 

First bluefish caught!

A nice one!

This poor little bird was missing a foot. I wished our office was nearby and I could get this little guy a prosthetic! 

Spooky picture of the shark. I am not sure if anyone can identify the type. I think it was a little black tip. Released safe and well, the circle hooks really help with that.

Lending a hand to a friend.

Our youngest hero caught the biggest fish of the day!!!!

Great picture of Sid Nelson, one of our dedicated clinicians who loves to fish.

Sid and I cleaned all these fish for our friends. They were excited to have a nice fish fry for dinner. It was an honor to spend a day with such great people and to serve them. Our next adventure will be ski trip to Beech Mountain!

Amputees often wonder if they can do things that they've always loved to do... with their prosthesis. Can you really do something physically challenging like skiing, biking, or running with a prosthesis?  

I recently met with a friend of mine to get his prosthesis dialed in for the upcoming ski season. Skiing is a lifelong passion of his and he was excited to share his mountain with me so I joined him for a day on the slopes at Beech Mountain. He had shared with me some great stories from adventures he had at famous resorts across the world before his amputation. Now he was returning to figure out exactly what skiing was like with a prosthesis. 

​We had a wonderful time and ended up figuring it out minus a few crashes and some very memorable moments with my friend. Skiing is harder than it used to be for him, but he was doing it. He put in the extra effort and worked through the extra challenges a prosthesis creates. It was motivating to see first hand what my patients experience as they get back into life. I feel I am a better person and a better practitioner having spent this day with my friend.