When were you injured?

[PN]

When you were injured, what was your age, injury level, and what year did it happen?

PN

[rybread]

7-9-00, i was 22, it was right before my b-day. c5-6 diving accident. trying to live life in man chyair. not doing to bad but i still struggle

[martha]

My husband was injured 3/24/01. T3 complete. Age 52.

martha

[rdf]

August 15 1986. I was 24, been in this chair for 15 years. All I can say is keep hope alive, never say die, and learn to love life. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Vike]

January 11, 1999. I was a passenger in a 95 Dodge Truck, the driver was drunk, and we rolled it. I came out of the deal a c6-c7, he got a broken rib. Go figure.

[kngtreeman]

june 23rd "99"was 30 years old.crushed c-5 t-8 several ribs on left side .1 rib went thrue my lung and punctured my heart.i suffer only from the t-8.damb lucky i should say.blow out driving home.went off side of road and flipped a cj-5 jeep.no it wasnt a firestone tire.lol

scott r

[KeyBored]

August 6, 1975, age 22, C5/6 from car accident while in US Navy.

Steve
keybored.net

[cheesecake]

I was injured on 7-14-91 on my 34th birthday. L5-S2 incomplete injury. Took a simple fall and had a compression fracture. Fell trying to get a second peice of cheesecake in celebration. NO, I was not drunk or stoned and Yes this is the truth. I had an undetected birthdefect of the spinal cord which made the injury significant. Try to make the same cheesecake every year for my birthday. I have 2 kids post SCI, have almost always worked and am grateful daily for what I still have.

[jnags]

Auto accident January 5, 1979 at age 16. C5-6

[rdf]

Hi CheeseCake, considering how you were injured, and your screen name, I think I can say that you have one super, healty, funny sense of humor!!
Take care
-bob http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif \/ http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[william]

April 17,1994 38 y.o.
Diving accdent

william

[william]

Forgot to state level of injury..
I'm c6..

william

[cheesecake]

I was razed pretty badly when this topic was first posted on SpineWire. I had used a different screen name but decided that since my cause of injury is pretty unique that I would go with the cause of injury. I figure it this way, laughing beats tears http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Scorpion]

October 13, 1990 at age 20, surfing. Fractured C-5 pretty badly with a hairline fracture in C-4. I'm a functional C-6, sensory incomplete. ASIA...B, I think? Crap, I'd have to look at the ASIA scale again.

~Rus

"Because you're not promised tomorrow." ~ Stuck Mojo

[floyd]

26/12/1991 diving accident - c5/6 complete aged 17

and i was the sober driver?

[trm98]

I was injuried after a bout with spinal meningitis when I was 17 at my c2-c3 level in '97.

[antiquity]

Hit by a drunk driver at age 8, July 1978. C7 (maybe C8), possiby sensory incomplete.

[Carl R]

Injured November 25th,1998. 30 years old when injured from a 30 ft. fall. C5. my little girl was born two days before my injury and is what keeps me looking forward to every day.

[omeleteman]

2nd Feb, 2001 (7 months post)- 29 y/o, T 3-4 complete para in a car accident first vacation day going to Salvador - Bahia when a huge dead animal - it was still dark - was on the road. Car hit animal and overturned many times. No time to brake, or anything.
http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Steve]

1991 (I was 28y old)
hockey accident
c4 complete
no movement shoulders to toes

[Curt Leatherbee]

And I was Injured on May 9th of 1981. I was injured riding my beloved Honda CBX inline 6 cylinder motorcycle. I had drank about 4 beers and was all depressed as my Uncle had died at only 48 years old that Mourning. I was very close to him. So I stopped at a friends house where I stored my Motorcycle (driving my beefed up chevy monza, remember those cars anyone? a fastback with the eight cylinder motor) and he really could not talk to me about how upset I was as he was preparing his Motorcycle for a race the next day.

Anyhow, I played frisbee in the yard with his brother for a while (and thats the last time I remember running and jumping) and then rolled my Honda out of his garage and fired my baby up to hear that sweet gurrgle of the inline six motor with the six to one kerker headers. I let her warm up for awhile and then rode the bike to the intersection. I will never forget that intersection as I should have taken a left at that intersection to go to the gas station as my fuel petcock was switched on reserve at the time and I needed gas.

Instead I took a right as I wanted to go around the hair pin corners and really lean my baby down and hear that motor rev as I felt that would sooth me in the emotional state that I was in. I hit full throttle coming out of the intersection and the front end lifted a little just as I hit second gear and 60 mph. I almost instantly accelerated up to 80 mph in second and started entering the first real tight hairpin corner and was a leaning, at this point another car was coming heading the other way ( and he was going way too fast also) and was veering into my lane. I had a big problem on my hands.

I backed off the throttle and instinctivly went for both the front and rear brakes at full force. I skidded alongside the road for about one hundred yards and got the bike way slowed down, at that point going only about 5 mph, I hit a rock wall off the side of the road (about 8 feet to the right) and hit it with my front wheel and was catapulted over the handlebars and did a slow backflip over and on to the top of the stones with my back and heard a loud crack when I hit. Ever since then, Have not been able to feel or move below my upper chest.

The Driver of the other car yelled to me from the side of the road "are you alright" and I told him "I think I am Paralyzed" he jumped back in his car and took off and I believe he was the one who called the ambulance and I never heard from him again. I think he was afraid of getting involved as it was partly his fault, of course i should not have been going over 80mph in a 25 mph zone. When I was in the hospital a couple weeks later, I got a speeding ticket in the mail (as if being Paralyzed was not bad enough) anyhow, thats my story.

[This message was edited by Curtis on September 09, 2001 at 11:26 PM.]

[Rustyjames]

9/10/00 one year to the day, diving, 43yr. C/6-7 incomplete.

[gpbullock]

March 11, 2000. At age 31, t-12 Off-road motorcycle accident.

[Cynthia]

My injury was the result of an auto accident on June, 21, 1992. I was 22 years old, and my level is c2c3.

[X-racer...]

C6/7 AUTO ACCIDENT MARCH 9, 2000 11:30PM. TRYING TO PROVE THE RELATIVE THEORY ONE CAN NOT SLEEP AND DRIVE A CAR SIMULTANEOUSLY. TEST SUCCESSFUL http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/frown.gif

LIVE IT UP AND LIVE IT LARGE!!!!

[Scorpion]

Happy anniversary, bro. Happy cuz you're still here, not cuz you cracked your spine. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

~Rus

"Because you're not promised tomorrow." ~ Stuck Mojo

[Steve]

Hi Cynthia,
If you want to write to a person like you, don t hesitate.
I m completly paralysed shoulders to toes (sports accident)
I had my injury in 1991
ouietnon@hotmail.com

[Rustyjames]

Scorpion,

Thanks for the anniversary salutation bro, for some reason, I don't think I'm going to be celebrating. It's a day that you don't want to remember, but it's one you'll never forget.

Wheel like the wind

[monkeygirl]

Aug 12/1990, 23yrs old, rolled my 4x4. I was coming home from a wedding reception and I was loaded. It was all my fault so I can't bitch! http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Scorpion]

Rustyjames

I hear ya. Don't celebrate the accident, celebrate another year living when you coulda been. Not easy, especially on #1, but it gets easier each year.

~Rus

"Because you're not promised tomorrow." ~ Stuck Mojo

[SKYCO]

I fell out of a tree on June 14th,99.T-12 I was 37

[Sue Pendleton]

Side swiped by a blocked artery to the spine (ischemia)somewhere around C5-7 although different docs have read the same MRI as C2-3, C3/4 and more but functionally C5-7 incomplete. No good story when it's not from trauma but it keeps medical students enthralled. May 25th, 1992 and no plans on spending a 10th anniversary in this chair. (Oh, and it was 1 week before my 33rd birthday.)

[Becky]

I was "injured" 6-28-00, a week before my 20th birthday. I was having a much needed spinal fusion to keep me out of a wheelchair in future years, when I suffered anterior spinal artery syndrome which left me with barely any movement but almost full sensation. The infarction left a lesion on my cord-the doctors estimate it to be at T9-10. Oh, BTW, they chose to go back and finish the surgery a week later on my birthday. For my birthday, I got a blood clot and a filter in my vena cava!! Happy Bithday to Me. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/frown.gif
Anyway life goes on. My spine is fused and I have no more back pain/problems--well except for the SCI. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Ulsio]

I was injured November 4, 1994. I was 29 years old. I was tired and had some drinks (just over the limit). I fell asleep, the road went left, I went straight, broke my neck. I am a c5 complete.
Barry

Fish#3 - Hey, look. Howard's being eaten

[monkeygirl]

OK Ulsio, I can't handle this any longer, What the hell does Fish#3-Hey,look Howards being eaten mean or come from or stand for??????? http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/confused.gif

[sherry38]

June 29, 2000

A day that will live in infamy ..;)
Horrendous act of medical malpractice...
c2-7 incomplete, walking quad..
Nice to meetcha http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
and glad to be back here http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
hugs sherry

"every man is my superior, that I may learn from him" Plato

[kl]

2,5 years post.
Ski accident. Moderate speed, moderate trail, very gentle fall. Second later I was against the tree. I did not brake anything except spinal cord. I did not feel any pain, I wanted to get up and ski again, but I could not- T10 complete.

[This message was edited by kl on September 29, 2001 at 09:30 AM.]

[This message was edited by kl on September 29, 2001 at 09:32 AM.]

[Lizbv]

Car accident, Sept 24th, 96 30miles north of Truth or Consequences, NM. C5/6

[TD]

On April 1, 1995 I was 43 years old and riding in a 1965 Ford Econoline (pre-seat belts vehicle) when the driver decided to pass a semi. The head-on collision happened with both vehicles going in excess of 50 mph. I was crushed from my waist down to my toes and broke every bone in my face. C1/C2 were fractured but there was no apparent displacement. 19 days after the accident the neurologist decided I should be in a halo brace, go figure. The doctors decided not to set the bones I had broken with the statement that I wasn't going to walk anyway so why bother.

They pumped 14 units of blood into me over 72 hours and because of this eschemic event I developed lesions at T4, T8, and T11.

Oh yeah, the driver didn't have any insurance and was so poor to sue him would have been throwing good money after bad.

"And so it begins."

[omeleteman]

Feb 2nd, 2001.
29 years old.
T 3-4 complete.
Car accident first vacation day going from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador.
A huge dead animal http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/mad.gif on the dark road made my car turn over many times. no time to break or detour.
don't know if these things happen in USA roads.

[bruce]

March 7, 2001 .. age 45

C6 incomplete, Brown-Sequard syndrome (better movement on one side of my body, better sensation, especially of pain and temperature, on the other)

Ski accident .. low speed and nearly flat terrain .. decided to play in a few holes and bumps .. misjudged the terrain, caught an edge and crashed hard. Methylprednosolone started in the helicopter to Harborview Hospital in Seattle (thank you Dr. Young). Still recovering ...

[alan]

I was injured June 11, 1981 at the age of 21. It was a diving accident. I hit a submerged log or something. It wasn't the river bottom. I'm a high C-5.

Why was I injured? Beer. No, I didn't drink any. I was never really a beer drinker, but occasionally it hit the spot. This day wasn't one of those days, so instead of drinking a brew, I hit the water. Had I drank, I would not have gone swimming at that time - I never swam (or drove, for that matter) when I drank alcohol. Ironic, eh? How many people get paralyzed because they weren't drunk? :-(

[Jeff]

Was having the time of my life. Injured swimming right before midnight, 6/12/80. I was sixteen.

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/FIREdevil.gif

Every time I laugh or smile I invalidate the horrendous theft of my youth. I plan to be the happiest, partyingest, used-to-be-paralyzed man of the new millenium. They'll have to coin a new term. "Middle-aged" certainly won't describe me after a new start in life.

GO CURE !! !!

http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/smilie/biggrin3.gif

Oh yeah, C6 burst fracture, C7 function on right side.

[This message was edited by Jeff on October 08, 2001 at 10:13 AM.]

[Cappy]

August 9th 1992.
30 yrs old.
T5-6 Complete.
Honda CBRF2 600. Was a little to fast (50 mph) in a tight series of turns, lost control of the bike. Hit a mountainside head-on. Shattered T4,5,6,7. T6 bone fragment completely cut my chord. Broke 4 ribs on the left side. Two of which torn open my chest cavity.
Major Ouch!!!!

[Chris Chappell]

06/02/00. 36 yrs. old. Mountain bike accident. Extreme athletes fall extremely hard. C6-7 dislocation and severe bruise. Sensation incomplete, motor complete.

We all shall heal. Keep working hard.

[Steven Edwards]

August 19th, 1996 at the age of 16. One week before the start of my senior year of high school. Ejected from my car [no seat belt http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif] and landed cranium first in a pile of mud. My injury was/is at the C3 level, but functionally I am a C3/4 hybrid as my diaphragm works and I can shrug my shoulders.

-Steven

[Sarah Mueller]

I'm 24. I fell from a swing on March 10, 1985 at 5:00 p.m, ET. It was a warm pre-spring day and I was toeing the ground with my foot. I lost my grip on the chains of the swing and fell backward, landing on 2 inches of snow and ice. I didn't break anything, not a bone, not my spinal cord. Who knows how or why I ended up a complete T11-T12 SCI, especially considering I got up after falling and walked around for an hour? I simply got into a warm bath and couldn't get out. I was 7 1/2.

[robb909]

DEC 14th 2000
28yrs old
T8-10 Shattered cord in tact but compressed, cage rods the whole picture
They call me "ASIA A" T5
Having a very tricky time adjusting to this
style of life.
5th Yr Veterinary Medical student.
My Men's Gymnastic Team was 9th in the state, I ranked 2nd on Floor and vault.
So, Here I am sitting at a red light waiting to go
Xmas shopping for my nephew, sisters and Mother.
When SLAM a HUGE transport truck going 70mph carrying 20 tons of steel ramms into the back of the conversion van I was a passenger in. The 24yr old truck driver casually told the police he was looking for his ringing cell phone, "head was only under the dash for 30-45 seconds." So here I sit seemingly condemned from the looks of things to a very uncomfortable lifestyle of clamped titanium rods, hundreds for radiographs, bladder infections, DVT's, countless number of pills daily, spasms galore, just healed stage 4 bed sore, just the tip of this iceberg...On a scale of 1-10 Rob, what would best describe the pain in your back? 26 I answer.
Well, Try 2 500mg Tylenol.
Gotta love the Lemons Good Guys get handed huh?
I guess Ill try to make some lemonade?
http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/confused.gif

[mikep]

10-15-98 was like anyother workday...countless beers into the night I ambled off to find an ATM (and did)somehow afterward I awoke beneath a bridge unable to move...morning came and EMT's took me to trauma center to find thirteen breaks in six back-ribs, both lungs collapsed,t-9,10 crushed.
since then a t-8 complete
I was 41 at the time and recieved the methylprenod... shots to no avail since so much time had passed before getting medical attention. No structural surgery or neuro-examinations since Nov. 98 but will see neuro and pysiatrist this month and could possibly get action on condition before year's end. Yep I might have lost part of my body but have since found out the importance of a relationship with God, family, friends, and support from forums like this one.

[etexley]

T5 complete, as of April 19th, 2000. I had just moved to south Florida two weeks before. My car died on the way down. Biking to pick it up, making a left turn at a stop light, and got slammed by a mini van.

Been working at walking ever since. Now HARDER than ever. But too many of the people I know are worried about their valuables, "oh my car got wrecked" Should I worry about the brand new $2000 road bike I bought? Every time I make a kid laugh, every time I can throw a ball again for my dog, I realize how much I love my life. Flemming wrote a novel entitled "you only live twice...." Don't let the second time be for nought! Heck, I'm the idiot that biked in 5pm traffic, and I'm the moron that turned in front of a van...whether or not he was speeding aint the question.

[This message was edited by Eric Texley on October 14, 2001 at 08:49 PM.]

[This message was edited by Eric Texley on October 14, 2001 at 08:51 PM.]

[KateM]

May 30, 1999 -- T8/9 complete
MVA on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Some yahoo ran a stop sign and t-boned our car. I was snoozing in the back seat one moment, and the next I was going for the flight of my life (yaya no seatbelt). I was 3 months pregnant at the time. So the one great thing that happened in this year of misery was my daughter was born whole and healthy. Thank goodness for small miracles!

[Ulsio]

Hi monkeygirl,
Sorry so long to reply. Its from the film "Monty Python's Meaning of life." The opening scene a bunch of fish are swimming around talking.
FISH #1: Morning.
FISH #2: Morning.
FISH #3: Morning.
FISH #2: Morning.
FISH #1: Morning.
FISH #3: Morning.
FISH #2: Morning.
FISH #4: Morning.
FISH #1: Morning.
FISH #3: What's new?
FISH #1: Not much.
FISH #6: Morning.
FISH #5: Morning.
FISH #4: Hello.
FISH #2: Morning.
FISH #1: Morning.
FISH #3: Morning.
FISH #5: Morning.
FISH #3: Morning.
FISH #4: Morning.
FISH #2: Morning.
FISH #1: Frank was just asking 'what's new?'.
FISH #6: Was he?
FISH #1: Yeah,... mhmm.
FISH #3: Hey, look. Howard's being eaten.
FISH #2: Is he? Makes you think, doesn't it?
FISH #6: Mmm.
FISH #3: I mean, what's it all about?
FISH #6: Beats me.

Barry

Fish#3 - Hey, look. Howard's being eaten

[tigger74]

August 14, 1997. I was a passenger in a 89 Chevy Truck. The driver had been drinking and we hit a cattle gaurd to fast and rolled it 4 times bumper to bumper. Threw us both out, if I'd had my seatbelt on I would have been killed. The truck cab was smash down into the seat on my side. I came out of the deal a c6-c7, he got a few cuts and scrapes. Never heard from him again and known him all of my life. He had no insurance too. Just my luck!

[tigger74]

Oh yeah I was 23 when my accident happen.

[joyt]

27 years ago today... 18... c234... 1974

[Larry'ssis]

My younger and only brother was injured on September 30, 2001 in an automobile accident, yes resulting from alcohol. They tell us he is T12 complete. He had a buddy in the car who suffered a bruised brain and broken femur. The were best friends before and remain that now. Neither knows who was driving. That morning that I got a call to go to the hospital, Larry's been in a car accident, I thought I had lost him. Larry, I thank god everyday he left you here with us, I don't know what I would do without you.

When I was almost a size 8 again. When my arthritic dog was a floppy eared pup that never left my side. When my husband and I were planning a barge cruise on the canals of France. When I was figuring out where all to take my Dad when he finally came to Europe so he could see as much as possible and still have fun. When I was digustingly healthy and never expected to be side swiped by a blood clot or something that cut off oxygen to the artery into the area of my spinal cord at C3-4.

The morning of May 25th, 1992 on a car trip down to Lake Constance to walk around the Island of Mainau and enjoy the flowers. No crash, no bang, no head in to anything. Just sudden pain from the lack of oxygen and first a small country hospiptal and then bigger ones ending at a huge one. Received more than my share of methylprednisolone. DX=spinal infract at C3-4, no known cause, functionally incomplete both sensory and motor at C5-7 now.
Don't really want to find out what osteoarthritis feels like in my feet, toes are plenty. So please keep any 10th anniversary celebrations in this chair to yourself unless they involve me walking.

PS....to whoever asked about dead animals in the road. No, normally they cart the dead ones away. Unfortunantly the dead ones were alive when they went through someones windshield seriouly hurting or killing the front seat occupants.

"Live hard, die fast, leave a good looking corpse" does have new meaning to me now. :-/

[BStone]

I was injured in a bicycle accident on May, 16 1989. I'm a C7 quad. I work for Glens Falls Hospital and Teftec Mobility as a wheelchair sales rep. After all these years life as a quad seems very normal to me.

[cindyg]

April 30, 1984; 33 days after my dad died, and 33 days before my 28th birthday. Rear ended on way to Grand Canyon. C4-7 vertebrae involved. A tad bit missing at C3 level, and a tad bit gives it the good ol' college try at the L2-3 level. Meantime, all parts in between are either not present, or far from equal.

But thank God I got to keep my 2 little daughters.

[Ken]

Feb 18, 2001 - Doctor slipped during surgery puncturing the quada quina taking out L5, S1-5. Not what I expected to get out of the surgery

[surfdano@msn.com]

8-2-98 going surfing, Jalama Beach, lost controll of jeep went off 200 ft.drop off lost son 3 1/2 years old, 1 year later on son's Birthday lost my girlfriend. O me well c-7 at the time, now t-2 lots of hard work and alot of prayers we will all walk.

[monkeygirl]

You forgot to tell us about you. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[PN]

OK Monkeygirl, I will post. BTW, I didn't forget.

8QLJkPzwLLk


[This message was edited by PN on October 30, 2001 at 04:16 PM.]

[PN]

1987 was the best year and the worst year of my life. Over a decade of long distance, marathon running and weight training resulted in my physical health being excellent. In May of that year I finished Graduate School at USC and thus achieved my educational and professional goals. In July of 1987 I was the victim of a drunk driver who was in possession of a loaded handgun and he was angry and decided to shoot innocent motorists. While driving down the freeway to visit a friend I was shot just below my left ear and I had no idea what had happened. He fled the scene and was caught later that day. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years in prison and was released in five years under the good behavior policy. I was awarded a civil judgment of eight million dollars and I have not, and probably never will, collect anything from this convicted felon. I live alone, and this total dependence on others is sometimes more scary than I want to deal with.

The sadness comes when I remember how magnificent the views were before I was shot. You can only appreciate the mountaintops if you have been in the deepest valleys.

Paul Nussbaum

[Christopher Paddon]

My accident was 19 years ago yesterday when I was 24 - it was totally my fault which doesn't prevent my being bitter and twisted about it! I used to love running and sport and was in great shape when it happened. Does that make it worse - I don't know? Is it even relevant. Why did this happen to me?, I used to think for hours/months/ years on end.
I've worked the whole 19 years (only 'cause everyone made it easy for me to do so - I'm not showing off) but got laid off (for the 2nd time) in March this year and have suffered from severe depression since June (which I do from time to time) and have not managed to go looking for another job yet - feeling a bit better lately though, a lot to do with this forum I've discovered and Dr Wise's optimism for a cure (and another English researcher I know well) plus a few anti depressant pills.
I often manage, when I'm not depressed, to keep my total loathing of paralysis to my self which can lead some people to say how 'wonderful' I've been - I HATE that!
Hey, does anyone ever believe the people who say their life is better since their injury?? Do they suffer a certain type of brain damage as well??
Anyway, how did I do it? On a beautiful clear day at 8.45 in the morning I smashed up my beloved 1965 Jaguar XKE (as you call them in the US, E Types everywhere else) at a cool 110 mph, only in 3rd gear - just trying it out you know!!! - what a dumb thing to do!!!!! Had no seat belt which saved my life (I was flung through the closed sun roof) as the car was compressed into recognisable scrap metal like in those scrap yard crushers!

Chris

[Christopher Paddon]

unrecognisable scrap metal, is what I meant

[jws1217]

May 29, 1999 head on motorcycle accident at 50+ mpg, car totaled, body totaled. What I can not understand to this date is having such a severe accident, hitting so fast head-on, flying through the air for more than 100 feet, I fractured my pelvis due to the gas tank (Oh the swelling my wife said) and breaking my neck c-4 c-5 (incomplete) I landed in a ditch. This was the basically extent of my injures. This is what I cannot understand to this day. WHY? What if I landed a few inches the other way, would I have had no SCI? Or would I have not been here today. I ask my self this question over and over, and thank God that I am still here. Especially finding out in the hospital that I would be a father in 7 more months. God has blessed me with 2 miracles my son and the ability to be here with him.

Ps: Cant wait for a cure

[Michelle]

June 7, 2001 - 32 yrs. old, Shawn was rock climbing (lead climbing - putting in his own safety's)and fell 40 feet, head first, hit his head the last foot or 2 and caused a flexion injury of C234- mostly on 4 before collapsing on the ground. Can shrug his shoulders, off the vent, off the feeding tubes, no brain damage- was wearing a helmet- which cracked from the impact- and is the safest ironically climber that I know...Waiting to go to res rehab - currently in transition. Dreams on hold for now but still happy - ,most days to have one another. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

[crashgirl246]

On Sept.1,2001, I decided to take my brand new 2001 Polaris 400 Scrambler, out to Glamis.(Sand dunes in Ca.) I dont remember anything about the accident, except for what i was told by the person i was riding with at the time. I was riding along,by myself, following a friend in his sandrail. IT was about 2AM, but a full moon. I hit a "sugar bowl"(cliff like dune) got flown off the bike, it rolled over me several times,causing my right lung to be punctured, and collapes. I suffered from compound fractures at T-7,8, and T-9 was completly gone, and T-10 was fractured.I have NO sensation,or recolection of the accident that night or for about 2 weeks after teh accident. I spent 1 week in ICU and then a month in the hospitol. tehn another month in rehab. Im doing well adjusting to the new way of life. I stay very active and will continue to learn new things everyday. Im greatful for this website to meet people and share my experiences both good or bad!

[danielgr]

Jan. 16, 1997 I was snowmobiling with some friends. I fell off my seld and the guy behind me ran me over. T-6/T-7 injury site. I am 30 years old now and working full time.

Living on the prayer for a cure soon!!!!!

[ha ha]

after reading the stories at this site and many others like it I am still no closer to figuring out just what the hell they are for. How is this helping us!You want to know what nightmares other people have lived so you can compare that to your own,, all in the hopes that it will make it look not so bad. Well, ok. Here you go people. It was July 20, 1997, I was out with my family just walking the dogs on a hot summer afternoon. We were at a park not far from our house where there was a river. After throwing a few sticks for the dogs I was walking upstream in knee deep water and decided to soak my whole body( Something i might have done a thousand times befor). This accident has been and still is impossible for me to understand. Not so much why it happened but how any WHY did I survive.I SHOULD NOT BE HERE WRITING THIS TODAY! I took two or maybee three large steps then lunged forward, my head hit the bottom and c5 was crushed between 4 and 6. This is only the beginning. I was knocked out 4 a very short time. When I regained conciousness i was floating downstream face down. By the time I couldn't hold my breath any longer i had drifted approx 30 feet downstream to a shallower part. I knew I was dead but I couldn't give up my attemps to get air(this probably made my spinal damage more severe, Who knows) Finally I just blacked out.THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IT BUT...I woke up on the riverbank only to find my family trying to save my life. Thats it.From that moment on my life has been out of my hands.I was 15. Im now 19.I function at c6 level. I wish I could say that that says it all but it does'nt even come close. I need something new in my life to make up for my loss. That much I know. but what or who will give it to me is unimaginable to me right now.Will it come from myself? I doubt it.
feedback pleas

[PN]

Uncomfortably Numb:

If you read the top of the post, nowhere is it written that you have to go into details about your ordeal. People decide, what they want to share or disclose about their life trauma.

You wrote that you are looking for something new in your life, to make up for your loss. There is no quid pro quo or a 12-step program that can make up for your loss. It is simply too big! However, many of us here, understand your frustration, anger, loss, sadness, and depression. My suggestion is to try to do something productive everyday. :-)

Good Luck, PN

[Obieone]

The "how were you injured" thread has been ongoing since the old Spinewire days and I don't know - maybe its just me - but I am curious about how we all got to be in in these circumstances! In some ways knowing these details helps me to understand where everyone is coming from.

You're very young and I can only imagine your anger and frustration with life for where you're at . . . I'm real sorry if it caused you anymore pain . . . just wondering . . . why did you answer?

http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[bushman]

I went for a nice ride on my dirt bike all alone on a deserted logging road without telling anyone where I was going or when I would be back it was june 18 2001 at 2.30 pm I was 29 I missed a corner on the road hit a creek and went over the handle bars breaking t8 that was my only injury so far but I said I was alone on a deserted road I spent the next two days contemplating what death was going to feel like when I finaly died finaly a truck drove by (the only veicle in two days) they hapened to have their window down and I managed to yell loud enough for them to hear me ,with two collapsed lungs. I got a helecopter ride to the local hospital then a jet ride to calgary alberta canada where they screwed my back back together and got my kineys working again.
final diagnosis t8 complete bilateral hematoma(collapsed lungs)renal failure(kineys)dehydration
amulance ride $10,000
hospital stay $80,000
wheelchair $4,500
still being alive $pricless
for everything else there's healthcare
living life to it's fullest

[sextonjt]

October 2, 1978, I was 14 years old. At age 13 disgnosed with scoliosis which was progressing badly. Decided surgery was the best option. During the operation blood flow to spine was compromised, and I awoke a T-4 incomplete para.

I've learned more about my injury and what it means to live with SCI in the last year from everyone here and on the other boards than I learned in the previous 22 years. Glad to know you all. - Joe

[Emi2]

August 2nd, 2001. 19 years old. Had a summer job promoting road safety for an insurance corporation. Lost control of the work Jeep, rolled many times. C 7/8 incomplete. Ha.,. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[This message was edited by Emi on January 26, 2002 at 01:26 PM.]

[connman]

Well it was a nice bright saturday afternoon, a few friends and myself wanted to go to this park to race around on our bikes, Everyone had a 125cc and i had this 250cc kaw, We were watching this guy jump this dbL table top and i wanted to do the same, when i came around i jump alright, high about 30 feet in the air, just never landed it the way i wanted to, not sure if my foot fell off the pegs or when the bike did a cat walk after i landed it, well i burst my back at the t12 level from falling off or from the impact from hitting the ground, what can you do , i'm not sorry one bit for the things that happen to me, well i guess that you just need to face the fact, other then that everything is good in the (life of brian) i mean Connman

[shadys_lady_4ever]

I was 17 when I fractured my L1 while sledding. We hit a weird little dug-out depression in the hill and I went went flying and came down on my hiney. It happened the evening of Dec. 28, 1997. Funny, I had gone because some people close to me (brother, bf, etc.) wanted to go so I said I would drive them because my car had front wheel drive and handled winter roads more safely! Go figure! http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

[JdlH]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PN:



Well, it was Nov. 4 1994. We had been out with a couple of guys, celebrating a good year for our business. We had lunch, and yes, a couple of drinks also. Then we went out for a coffee at a friends restaurant and after that we met a couple of other people and we went for a dance in a nearby nightclub. Yes, I had two scotch. Over the whole I have had a lot of food and about 4-5 drinks. When I drove home early in the morning in a curve a lady with a bike on her hand crossed the road passing the red light. I pushed the brakes like hell and tried to avoid her, all this went ok ( for her ). The car must have made a strange turn, jumped on to the other side of the road, crashed a statue for fallen soldiers from WWI and then was launched into a clothing shop. How I don't know but I got out through the sunroof when the car was lying on the right side. Two months later I woke up: the least severe thing was my T12 complete; I suffered 2 broken collar bones, 1 broken arm, all ribs broken except for 1, shoulder blades broken, 2 lungs collapsed while punctured by ribs, kidney's didn't work anymore, heart wasn't functioning to well anymore, maybe because they had to CPR me 7 times from acc. location to hospital. For a T12 I had a long time in rehab, also because of calcification in my knees and hips and a huge hematoma ( hospital mistake ) on my back.

Shall I drop an item now?? It's not that i'm not happy still living, because my life is pretty ok, work, travel have friends and a nice place to live.

But why in the world do they keep people alive when thay can't even say HOW they will survive after such a major impact. I could have been braindamaged ( lying beside the car for 4 minutes with collapsed lungs could cause that ).

So, that's what, how and when it happened.

[chimera]

My injury is from a gunshot wound. Bullet went through my right lung, through my spinal chord (at T1) and is now sitting somewere in my left armpit.

[LauraD]

June 15,2000. She had just turned 8. Car accident.
She is a T-12 complete. She also had compartment syndrom and lost all use of her right hand. That has thankfully since mostly returned. She is still an A-B student and makes us so proud everyday. She's the one that keeps us going.

[marmalady]

This is in reply to some of the earlier posts, about why this thread was even necessary, that it is painful to some to recall. I started viewing this thread as it began, and check back in on it regularly.

Every time I come to the thread, it's a chilling reminder of all you out there; that we're not alone in our struggles/battles/triumphs/losses; that there is a real community of souls who, for whatever reason, are thrust together because of the injuries sustained. It is a powerful posting; it speaks of pain, and endurance, and hope, and despair. It should be published, as the collective voice of all of us in the spinal cord community, to remind everyone of the existance of folks who are enduring beyond what most people would give up on. It is as powerful as the Memorial Wall in Washington, and should serve the same purpose - so the world will not forget.

We're all connected because of the commonality of what life has brought us. This thread serves to remind us all of that.

God bless us, every one.

_____________
Tough times don't last - tough people do.

[alissa]

skinny dipping at an ungodly hour with jose (cuervo) and best friend sharon. dove into her 4 ft. pool - what an idiot! wouldn't have happenned if i'd just gone along with a few lesbian advances. probably would have been the best night of my ab life! just call me a tease who's learned her lesson.
aug 13, 1990 - c6 22yrs.

btw- still not a les- happily married to a man!

[joy]

September 25, 1999 - glad this is here - feel I shouldn't talk about it - so this is safe. Body surfing - felt I was too old after talking to some good surfers to start with a board - so became an avid body surfer -no boards, just that wonderful feeling of body in the wave. We went every weekend from april to November and during vacations.
This was not a great wave - just took it 'cause I got tired of waiting for one! But there was a rip happening that I missed- head impacted sand bar, fracture at c4 but not a bad one - it was the c3 sci that did the trick.
Oh I was 55 when it happened - so they really didn't hold out much hope for me - thank god I had a young P.T who saw me for who I was and didn't buy into the 50/50 "rule"
am an incomplete; have motor and sensory deficits but seem to be able to cope with that weirdness and awkwardness - its the pain that interferes with living my life. And hate to say this - but don't know what to do with myself between april and November! Honestly believe that if someone offered me a deal- that I would have to have this level of pain for the rest of my life in exchange for being able to go back into the ocean and riding some waves - I'd take it in a heartbeat.
Again - thanks for the thread - know I wrote too much - but just don't talk about it and think I need too some time.

[Tara]

Almost 17, just got off work and went to a house party. Ended up driving a car for an idiot who had gotten himself drunk and stoned and couldn't drive. Came to a division in the road and I wanted to go one way- he wanted to go the other and he grabbed the wheel. We ended up flipping down a sharp incline and I was thrown out. T4 Incomplete as a result.

[Bunty25]

hi everybody
sorry could write only now.
date of injury : july 26th 2000
time : 10 30 a.m.
cause : motor vehicle accident; i was the
driver
18 months post injury neither me nor anybody else has been able to give me a suitable reason how it happened.this is the most accurate account from witnesses.
i was driving a multi utility vehicle at around 50 to 60 miles max. there were 10 of us in the vehicle. i did not go collide against anything. i wasnt drunk. were on our way to a classmate's dad's funeral. i had been driving 4 years prior to that.
the most actual reason given by an analyst was that the car nose dived on the road due to a defective rear axle. it must have snapped while driving. but no one can confirm.the road was a flat straight road, no level difference. there were no vehicles heading towards us.
someways thankful becuase i dont remember anything at all. i only remember waking up in an icu a week later.
the irony is that out of the 10, one died and i became a para. the rest 8 were perfectly fine. there were a few who werent even scratched. and a few with minor injuries. nothing major. no loss.
the guy who died was sitting at a random place behind. the 2 guys who were next to me in the front seat went unscathed.
actually the rest 8 graduated this year. i havent been to college since then. was it accident, luck or fate.
i guess that no one can answer.

http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

[sharon]

March 31, 2001. We were out for a Saturday afternoon bicycle ride. I hit some gravel on a curve and skidded off and down the embankment. That was all it took. A few scratches and a broken neck. How ironic I guess.

[Scribe]

I was a newspaper reporter driving to work on March 13, 2000.

Some guy in a truck, traveling in the opposite direction, had stopped to make a left turn. A guy was speeding behind him and didn't react in time. To avoid rear-ending the truck, he swerved to the left across the double line and into my path. I turned sharply to the right to avoid him. I was thrown from my 1985 Ford Bronco II when it overturned after going over the curb.

I ended up face down in a ditch 60 feet below the road. My T-10 (complete) was burst and I had 10 broken ribs and collapsed lungs. I knew I was paralyzed when I touched my legs and felt nothing. What a horrible feeling.

I was thrown from the car because my seatbelt malfunctioned, coming off when I violently lurched against it. The guy who caused the accident said he dropped his coffee and was distracted before he rear-ended the guy in front of him and veered into my lane.

An ambulance took me to a helipad and I was flown by helicopter to a hospital. I remember ICU. I was in and out of consciousness due to the morphine, which caused horrendous nightmares. The pain from the rib fractures was excruciating.

I had tubes down my throat, in my nose, and in my lungs. I had to scribbled notes, while in a morphine-induced stupor, to prevent aides from moving me, which invariably caused excruciating rib pain.

I was in the depths of depression. I was inconsolable and could barely tolerate my wife reading get-well cards to me. My hands were tied because I had ripped the lung tubes from the sides of my chest. I looked at my wife and pointed my right index finger to the side of my head and squeezed my thumb in a mock suicide attempt. I wanted to die.

After two weeks, I transferred by van 100 miles to the hospital where I recovered and rehabbed. I barely smiled the first two months post injury. My spirits sank further when the doctor who admitted me said I would live in a wheelchair the rest of my life. I desperately wanted some sign that I could recover some mobility and walk -- even to walk with canes.

Rehab was brutal. I was never able to get from the floor into my chair, which intensely frustrated me. I've gained 40 pounds since leaving the hospital on July 7, 2000. I used to work out at the gym to get endorphin rushes and stabilize my weight. I ate anything I wanted.

I've had edema, swelling in the legs and feet, since I left the hospital. I have to wear TED hose to reduce the swelling. I have no bowel and bladder control and no sexual function. The doctors were right. I'm a complete with no feeling or voluntary movement below my level of injury.

Five months after my injury, I broke my right femur when I crossed my right leg over my left to tie my shoe. My right leg now hangs at a right angle. My feet now slip off the foot rest when I don't have shoes on.

I'm happy for SCIs who improve, but I'm also jealous because I have not gotten anything back. I'm considering Dr. Kao's procedure to restore more feeling, mobility and function.

I'm involved in political campaigns, disability rights, reaching out to my SCI friends, and making new SCI friends at this site.

I've been in a funk the past several weeks, although I'm on antidepressants. Some days I'm alright. I've always had a good sense of humor and laughter keeps me alive. However, I think I may have attempted suicide if it wasn't for my two kids, 8 and 10 years old.

Thanks for allowing me to share this. Your input and support mean a lot to me. Scribe

[chipper]

I was paralyzed in 1979 from a spinal cord tumor. I am now T11 complete, after many, many spine surgeries and therapies to combat the tumor.

After my "injury", I went to high school, college, graduate school, got married, got a job, got a car, got a house, buried my mom, got some cats, and generally realized that life went on. I don't really think about my disability on a daily basis, because it is just background noise for me now.

[Scribe]

Chipper, you are chipper. Obviously, you're coping well with your injury and that's good for us to know. You've also given me good advice about diet. It appears you've built your life on a string of successes.

Why do you use this forum? To encourage others? What do you get out of it?

[MilleniumRex]

Kim, my girlfriend and one true love, was injured on Memorial Day 2003. She was at a party(alcohol was involved) that I had declined to go to mainly because it was a high school crowd and I'm older, and dove into the shallow end of the pool. Broke her C4 vertebrae and immediately lost all use of her limbs. She didn't pass out, and was fully aware of what was happening for over a minute before they pulled her out. She's a smart girl. Her first words after catching her breath when she was pulled out were "Oh, fuck. I'm paralyzed".

[Theophania]

August 25th, 1993. 2 weeks before 9th grade.

[Brad_D]

July 12, 1984 when I was 16 yrs. old. C-4/5 incomplete 19 yrs. post. Racing bicycles. (BMX)

[PB72181]

16 years old, T10 complete, August 21, 1997...I was hit head-on by a drunk driver who came around a curve on my side of the road.

Don't piss me off or I'll run over your toes. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[duge]

Oct. 3 2002 43 yrs of age T-12 incomplete a little old 83 yr old lady turned in front of me on my motorcycle they did not find my burst fracture for 2 months even though I told them my back hurt

[-scott-]

Jan.11.1999, night before my 2nd semester of college, downhill skiing at a small local sh***y resort on a trail w/ too little snow cover & icy conditions. C6 sensory incomplete, regained fxn to C7. Will be 5yrs post in roughly 2 weeks.

(How many "how/when were you injured" threads do we have? http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif )

______________
Remember yesterday... Live today... Dream about tomorrow...

[~Patrick~]

How many "how/when were you injured" threads do we have?

posted Sep 08, 2001 09:55 PM

just this one I think?

[tegdirb]

Injured January 10th, 2002, exactly 9 months after my dad past away and three days before I was suppose to move...Im c6-7 complete...I was 23.

Even if your body cannot move, you can still think and meditate ~Dalai Lama~

[Andy]

August 6, 2002, roughly 10PM. Riding like an idiot ignoring my own rules on how to safely ride like an idiot. Hit an unexpectedly sharp corner after 2-3 miles of highspeed curves, proceeded to lowside into a guardrail. As bad luck would have it, instead of just skipping along the ground to a fairly uneventful ending to that crash, I managed to hit the leading edge of a guardrail with my back resulting in a T6 complete injury.

[Slider82]

Injured 9/11/82, 20 years old, C5 incomplete, were there any other questions? http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[klcmacjac]

Injured January 31, 2003. Age 39. T6 complete

[Rollin Rick]

January 26, 1999, 32 years old, C4, C5 incomplete, snowmobile accident, fallen tree just caught the top of my helmet snapping my neck.

What one man can do another can do

[Shannon]

Originally posted by seneca:

Hit by a drunk driver at age 8, July 1978. C7 (maybe C8), possiby sensory incomplete.

Hit by a drunk driver at age 8, August 1978.

Alive for 33 years
T4/5 complete for 25 years
Mom for 6 years

[lady]

Age 17
c 5/6
Oct-6-1968
Auto accident

[Fastasaturtle]

I was 18
Aug, 7th 1988, sunny, 5:01pm 20 secs on clock as a crash dove.
15.4 years post c4 quad
now 34
Lifes a riot!

--fast

[Mike C]

Today is my 7th year. I was 30 when it happened on December 25th, 1996 on an iced up hill sleigh riding! Ho, ho ho...I got my present. C7 incomplete. Nothing but flashbacks today. Merry Christmas.

"So I have stayed as I am, without regret, seperated from the normal human condition." Guy Sajer

[mikes4x4]

it was 2 days befor thanksgiving in 02. 11-26-02 at 8:57 pm.

[AO]

15 December 1996
4 days before my 21st birthday, playing beach rugby
C6 Asia A complete.

[november]

December 25, 2002
20 years old
c6c7 incomplete

[Gangsta]

Was in 1993, I was 14 y/o: climbed up on a tree, nothing special, slipped of, fell down, about 2 Meters or something like that ... landed on my back, and the landing left me Th 11/12 complete. Have not climbed on a tree since that date :-/ ... wonder myself why I climbed up, there was nothing to do up there !!!

Bye
Gansta

[Lshall82978@yahoo.com]

12-22-1984

[Bke]

March 11th 2000; didn't celebrate my 26th B-day the 12th http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/frown.gif
C456 incomplete

[This message was edited by Bke74 on 12-27-03 at 07:16 AM.]

[amanda]

c5/c6, feb. 6, 2003, riding in the snow on a car hood turned upside-down ( make shift sled) pulled behind a four-wheeler, 20 years old

The heart seems to have its reasons which even reason cannot understand.

[Stiggy]

I fell off a 3 story building on June 16th 2000 at 10:35am.My injury level is c12 incomplete I believe. Stiggy

"The Meaning of things lies not in things themselves,but in our attitude towards them"

[dgrotz]

September 6, 1998
Labor Day 1 month after I turned 21
C5/C6 complete DUI car accident my fault

[glittergirl]

Sept. 12, 1999
car accident..not my fault
I was 18

~*~*~Priscilla Katheryn
Dec. 7, 2002 I become Mrs. Hedlin!!!

[Jesse's Mom]

Jesse was injured Dec. 14, 2002, 22 years old, C7, incomplete. Car accident, dead of winter, helicopter landed in a plowed field to lift him into Minneapolis.

[kimberkit18]

Well, Ray probably told you the basic info about my injury already, but I'll post the whole story here. I was 17 and less than a month away from graduating from high school. I was basically living it up before I left for college. Over the memorial day break, I got an invitation to a party that a friend of mine was holding-a pre-graduation sort of thing. Ray didn't want to come along, mainly because he was already a college sophomore and didn't feel like he would fit in with the high school crowd. We wound up having a huge fight over it, and I stormed out and went by myself. In retrospect, maybe I should have gone out with him that night instead http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif
I got to the party in a bad mood and ready to forget my troubles. The parents of this girl were out of town, so you know what that means. Beer and lots of it. I pretty much put every guy at the party to shame that night, if you get my drift. I had slugged back three beers already when I wandered over to the pool. You'd think I would have noticed that everyone was diving into the other side, but nooooo......
I yelled "Hey, boys! Watch this!", shot back some beer, and dove in. The first thing in my mind as I dove was "God, I must look so hot right now!". My thoughts were quickly interrupted when the bottom of the pool rushed up to meet me. My hands hit the bottom and buckled, and my face crashed into the bottom of the pool. I heard a cracking sound in my neck, and I flipped over. I had closed my eyes when I hit, and at first I couldn't see myself floating there. I felt something drifting over my face and settling a little over my mouth. I opened my eyes to see my hand lying there like a dead fish on my face, and that's when I began to freak out. I thrashed my head back and forth, trying to knock it off, only to see it slide to the side and land on the concrete floor of the pool. It could have just as easily been a piece of driftwood for all I felt it. I desperately tried to move upward, but my body wasn't cooperating. It seemed like aneternity before someone noticed that I hadn't come up, and pulled me out. I was an A student in science and anatomy, so I knew what had happened as soon as I realized I couldn't feel. My friends waited with me while people called the ambualnce and tried to tell me I would be okay, but I wouldn't be comforted. I was hysterical, convinced my life was over. When I got to the hospital, I was put under for surgery, and when I woke up my parents and Ray were sitting by my bed. Ray couldn't look me in the eye, my Mother was sobbing hysterically, and Dad was just staring at the ground in shock. The doctor came in and told me that I had injured my spinal cord at C4 and would never walk or move my arms again. I worked my ass off in rehab for 3 months, and I'm still doing outpatient Pt now, but I never got any return back. This is actually the first time I've written my story out at all. It was hard, but in a way, I guess it's sort of cathartic.
The hardest part of dealing with this was coming home, for sure. I had to ask my mom to get rid of a lot of my old stuff. I played guitar for over 8 years, and I just couldn't deal with watching it sit in the corner, knowing I'll never play it again. The same goes for my soccer trophies. I had to let go of that entire part of my life. I mean, sure, I'm praying for a cure every day, but I can't live my life like it's around the corner. To move forward with my life, I've got to think in terms of what I can do now. I'm hoping to start college soon, maybe as an education major. Even though I can't move my body anymore, my mind is still intact, and that's the most important thing.

[marmalady]

Kimberkit, welcome - I'm glad you found us. And I"m glad you were able to share your story with us. Sometimes it's just good to get it out, and this is the one place you'll find people who have the same thoughts, feelings, and solutions to what you're dealing with. Hope you stay in touch with us here, and why don't you try and get your mom up on the 'caregivers forum'? We've got lots of parents who share and talk, and give hugs when needed!

Have a happy new year, full of new beginnings for you!

Jackie

_____________
Tough times don't last - tough people do.

[mjhopper]

I'm 56 year old female artist who owned my own online business until 5 1/2 years ago when I was hit from behind while stopped to make a left hand turn. My car was push into oncoming traffic hitting a van head on. My seat collapsed projecting into the back seat breaking my back T11,T12. I was airlifted to a trauma hospital in St. Petersburg. I spent 6 months in the hospital and another 6 months in rehab. I've been married 36 years to a wonderful man who is my main caregiver. With both of us having our own business's before my accident we hardly found enough time for ourselves since my accident we both found that life is too short and we look at life differently now .... we are not taking things for granted anymore.

MJ

[~Patrick~]

Even though I can't move my body anymore, my mind is still intact, and that's the most important thing.

You have got the right attitude! Keep it up, you will do just fine.

[jody]

11/13/99 i was released with soft tissue injuries, but later found out i had a compression fracture at c-1 which had healed three brocken ribs. severed si ligaments and an incomplete sci at L-1 also head injury which causes virtigo and my ears have rung ever since. i was on a bike wnen I was hit by a drunk driver. im so fortunate. mine is a cake walk compared to most of you, but i cant seem to get on with life. i have finally given in and am opting for a manual chair if i can get funding, as i am now a shutin

[jody]

ps in feb of 2003 my grandmothers voice woke me. she has been dead 25 years. my house was on fire. i didnt hav my braces on, dont know how i got out. i was in a t shirt. thats all. three feet of snow on the ground. my kneesand hands were raw. guess i crawled. you would think id be greatful about cheeting death twice, but i somehow feel i dont belong in this world anymore. what the hell is wrong with me.

[jimnms]

April 1, 2002, I was 26. Some Spril fools joke.

_____
Learn from the mistakes of others, you won't live long enough to make all of them yourself.

[Bron27]

My husband was injured 14 March 2003, age 28. He was mountain biking and while attempting a steep downhill he went head first over the handle bars. Result: C7 complete. I was overseas at the time visiting family, it was not a pleasant plane trip home. All in all he is coping well and we both take each day one at a time!

[duge]

Jody
you got to go on Don't give up if you can walk . walk I know you may need a little help, but you are here for a reason I was hit by a little old 83 yr old lady at 6:00 in the am I was on a mtotrcycle . but you got to keep getting out in this world Make new freind's it might be the other's think you don't want them coming around if you are shut in but you got to keep your head up
I am a T-12 and also don't have my balance

[lynnifer]

July 29th 1985 approx 6:30am due to Transverse Myelitis

Age 12 - released from hospital on 13th Birthday, Halloween.

T-12 complete paraplegic

[Chris Chappell]

kimberkit, yes, welcome. You have a great mind, thanks for sharing.

Jody, I agree with duge. Hang in there. Continue to browse all the threads and posts we've gathered/created in the last couple of years. The more you read the more you learn and a little easier it may come to re-engage in the outside world.

You will find strength here. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif


Bron, I have the same injury as your husband and was injured in the same way 06/02/00 although I was 36.

Welcome to CC. Hopefully your husband will join us as well.

Peace all. http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Damage]

October 3, 1983
Fell out of a treehouse, I was 5.
T8 complete

[rdf]

I mean, sure, I'm praying for a cure every day, but I can't live my life like it's around the corner. To move forward with my life, I've got to think in terms of what I can do now. I'm hoping to start college soon, maybe as an education major. Even though I can't move my body anymore, my mind is still intact, and that's the most important thing.

No wiser words were ever spoken by Socrates himself...

Welcome to the careCure, KimberKit. You'll do good in life with such a great attitude, and a cure will be an option for you in the future.

Keep hope alive, but keep living too.

-peace http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif