Jim Ashworth-Beaumont

Once I have a goal in mind, it's happening.

So although I couldn't compete as an able-bodied person, I still wanted to attain the goal that I'd set out to do in July 2020.

So I just pushed and pushed and pushed to rebuild my fitness and took part in the British Paratriathlon Championships in June 2021.

I got a bronze medal.

Yeah.

So aside from the prosthetic side of the thing, which is obvious, I'd sustained a rather severe nerve injury to my left leg, which meant that below the knee I couldn't move or sense or feel my foot or my ankle.

Fortunately, being in the business...

I was able to access not complicated or expensive orthotics, but effective orthotics.

And I knew what I needed as well.

I was very lucky in order to be able to treat myself to some extent.

I'd lost essentially the whole of my arm below the shoulder.

So there you're losing all the muscles, all the joints, obviously, as well as the limb length.

And that's an awful lot of structure to try and reinstate.

So, you know, there are various things you're looking for in a prosthetic limb.

And one of the fundamental things is the connection between you and the limb itself.

Although, you know, I had access to prosthetics, they were not effective, they were not comfortable, and I couldn't wear them for a long period of time.

So I started out with a body-powered prosthesis, which is something that's controlled by cables and body force rather than powered electronics, for example.

Yeah, that sort of thing, yeah.

Or like a very simple device, which would be like something that's attached to your body and then essentially is a stick, enables you to support yourself or touch objects, for example.

And that's where I started out.