antiquity
12-20-2002, 07:52 AM
Posted on Mon, Dec. 02, 2002
TURNING POINT: Confined to wheelchair, she has not confined ambitions
BY RHODA FUKUSHIMA
Pioneer Press
In 1983, a drunk driver hit Rosalind Sampson's car, injuring her spinal cord and dislocating her kidney. She was in a coma for four days, in the hospital for six months. She was paralyzed from the waist down. Once an avid jogger, Sampson had to relearn basic skills. For a time, she lived with her parents in Iowa and later moved to Minneapolis. She returned to school and got her master's degree in rehabilitation counseling. She also went back to the gym. Sampson, now 43, is a substance abuse counselor at Unity Hospital.
"I had to physically, emotionally and mentally recover. This is something you never dream of. I had read (quadriplegic Joni Eareckson's) book a year earlier. When it actually happens to you, you don't know what to do. You don't have a manual.
Everybody is different. It was a total education.
"I went to grad school in the late 1980s. A professor said I'd have a difficult time in life. No. 1: I'm a woman. No. 2: I'm black. No. 3: I have a disability. I have tried so hard to defy that. I try to get into uncharted waters.
"I have written hotels, airlines. In Denver, I almost fell in a (hotel) bathroom. The guy wrote me back and said they'd made accommodations. They had made tremendous changes. It was wonderful.
"I've had to deal with societal prejudices. You feel like you're always trying to prove yourself. I'm finally letting it go. You kind of wear out. Now, 20 years later, I have seen remarkable progress - the acceptance, assimilation and integration.
"A colleague was instrumental in helping me get into a (gym) facility three or four years ago. I worked out at the YMCA. I joined LifeTime Fitness a year ago. It was intimidating. You see all these chiseled bodies. (You wonder) am I going to be stared at?
"Rehabilitation will only take you to a certain level. You're left with this body. You have to become your own pioneer.
"At the Y, I had a trainer. Now at LifeTime, I have a trainer. We work out twice a week. I come in on my own a couple of times. About every three months, he changes the routine so I won't get bored.
"I started (wheelchair) racing with the first trainer - the Race for the Cure. That was awesome. I'm always wheeling, so I could pretty much do the 5K no sweat.
"I try to get in two or three races a year. I do it for the cause. To see women fighting for a cause is heartwarming. It takes me out of myself. I'm not concentrating on me and my disability.
"I used to be very introverted. Since the disability, I've been forced to be an extrovert. I've surprised myself.
"I think of life in before and after terms. Constantly.
"I've been a counselor for three years. I'd like to contact insurance companies and urge them to fund more rehabilitation and long-term therapy. It's really, really needed.
"I would like to be known more as a person first and the disability second. I've learned that I am stronger than I thought I was. Having tenacity, drive, stamina. Being involved. Living on my own.
Buying my own car. I'm doing all this. I feel really good about it."
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/health/specialties/physical_rehabilitation/4632026.htm
TURNING POINT: Confined to wheelchair, she has not confined ambitions
BY RHODA FUKUSHIMA
Pioneer Press
In 1983, a drunk driver hit Rosalind Sampson's car, injuring her spinal cord and dislocating her kidney. She was in a coma for four days, in the hospital for six months. She was paralyzed from the waist down. Once an avid jogger, Sampson had to relearn basic skills. For a time, she lived with her parents in Iowa and later moved to Minneapolis. She returned to school and got her master's degree in rehabilitation counseling. She also went back to the gym. Sampson, now 43, is a substance abuse counselor at Unity Hospital.
"I had to physically, emotionally and mentally recover. This is something you never dream of. I had read (quadriplegic Joni Eareckson's) book a year earlier. When it actually happens to you, you don't know what to do. You don't have a manual.
Everybody is different. It was a total education.
"I went to grad school in the late 1980s. A professor said I'd have a difficult time in life. No. 1: I'm a woman. No. 2: I'm black. No. 3: I have a disability. I have tried so hard to defy that. I try to get into uncharted waters.
"I have written hotels, airlines. In Denver, I almost fell in a (hotel) bathroom. The guy wrote me back and said they'd made accommodations. They had made tremendous changes. It was wonderful.
"I've had to deal with societal prejudices. You feel like you're always trying to prove yourself. I'm finally letting it go. You kind of wear out. Now, 20 years later, I have seen remarkable progress - the acceptance, assimilation and integration.
"A colleague was instrumental in helping me get into a (gym) facility three or four years ago. I worked out at the YMCA. I joined LifeTime Fitness a year ago. It was intimidating. You see all these chiseled bodies. (You wonder) am I going to be stared at?
"Rehabilitation will only take you to a certain level. You're left with this body. You have to become your own pioneer.
"At the Y, I had a trainer. Now at LifeTime, I have a trainer. We work out twice a week. I come in on my own a couple of times. About every three months, he changes the routine so I won't get bored.
"I started (wheelchair) racing with the first trainer - the Race for the Cure. That was awesome. I'm always wheeling, so I could pretty much do the 5K no sweat.
"I try to get in two or three races a year. I do it for the cause. To see women fighting for a cause is heartwarming. It takes me out of myself. I'm not concentrating on me and my disability.
"I used to be very introverted. Since the disability, I've been forced to be an extrovert. I've surprised myself.
"I think of life in before and after terms. Constantly.
"I've been a counselor for three years. I'd like to contact insurance companies and urge them to fund more rehabilitation and long-term therapy. It's really, really needed.
"I would like to be known more as a person first and the disability second. I've learned that I am stronger than I thought I was. Having tenacity, drive, stamina. Being involved. Living on my own.
Buying my own car. I'm doing all this. I feel really good about it."
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/health/specialties/physical_rehabilitation/4632026.htm