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My advice for a newly injury person is to be an advocate for self and not give up.
friend’s father, and even stranger was the ride to the hospital with my high school principal. I didn’t know exactly what damage I had done but I couldn’t feel or move my legs. I was placated by doctors telling me that there may be some trauma to the nerves and that they may return to normal function shortly. That of course never happened. I was also buoyed by the terminology of “fracture” ironically, thinking that it didn’t sound all that bad, sounding more like a crack that a real injury per se. The diagnosis and treat at that time were dramatically different and dramatically worse than they are today; therefore I was rolled side to side for x-rays, with my dad wearing a lead vest to assist. Later that night I was transferred via ambulance to a spinal cord injury center about an hour away in Rochester, NY and when they read the films they were all blurry so the entire endeavor was a waste of time. After five days which was to allow the swelling to subside, I had surgery to repair my spine with a decompression, bone graft and rods for stability. I spent about 2 ½ months in total in the hospital, which was about as good as one could ask for from the staff, and doctors. I still return there when I travel back, speaking to their newly injured patients as much as I can.
Continued...
The first major challenge I had after my injury was simply adjusting to the fact that I had gone from being a perfectly healthy 17 year old, active kid to being paralyzed. It’s not an easy transition at any age but I think I was more vulnerable at that time. I knew I had to finish high school and had been injured about ¾ of the way through my final semester. Luckily I had been proactive and taken advanced placement courses and a summer college skills class which allowed me to graduate with my class without additional work. I spent most of the summer simply trying to get used to life in a wheelchair, while wearing a thoracic brace which severely limited my mobility, as well as my ability to eat. I was able to enter a local community college that fall and take a light load of classes to slowly come back up to
life in a wheelchair, while wearing a thoracic brace which severely limited my mobility, as well as my ability to eat. I was able to enter a local community college that fall and take a light load of classes to slowly come back up to speed and become accustomed to a regular schedule and the rigors of college. That also pushed me to regain my license to drive so that I wasn’t reliant on my parents. That was a challenge, using a large van initially with the local rehab to take driver’s education and also to pass the driver’s exam. K-turns in snow-lined streets in a large van are basically a 10-point turn. During the actual exam I used a police turn and swung it around instead and the examiner