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I grew up fast in rural northern Idaho by the age of 16 I was already working in sawmill. Through my days at school I excelled in athletics and not so much in academics. Upon graduation from high school I got married at the age of 18 and had a son when I was 19. I worked in sawmill’s and was a cowboy for a while but my main passion was working in the logging industry. Everything I did in life was around physical activity work, hiking, playing basketball, baseball and every other sport.
On August 19, 1984 at my 10th year’s school reunion we were playing volleyball in the sand along the Coeur d'Alene River. The ball was hit towards the river and I went running to save it. I saved the ball but my momentum kept me going and I went headfirst over a 4 foot bank and landed in 18 inches of water breaking my neck. The impact did not knock me out and I ended up floating face down in the river unable to move anything. My wife saw that I came up face down and knew something was wrong and jumped in and turned me over. For some reason I did not panic I actually felt very calm. They airlifted me to the hospital and put me in ICU on a kinetic bed that rotated back and forth. I kept thinking that I was going to beat this, up until the point where I asked my dad to rub my hands because they were hurting and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "I am Doug. I am."
Each month, we want to highlight a consumer of the AZSCIA and hear their story, and see the remarkable things people are doing around the community. We know everyone has a unique journey that got them to where they are today, and we hope to highlight that. If you have someone that you want to recommend for this section, please feel free to call us or leave us an email.
This month we are highlighting Doug White. He is going to tell us a little about his injury, challenges he faces living with SCI, and advice he has for individuals who are newly injured. Take a few minutes to read Doug's empowering story.
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