I was flipping through the polls
tryng to find out about everyone.
I'd read one & try to remember it.
Go to another & couldn't remember the last one.
I thought if it was all on one poll I could know you better.
For those that want to, here goes.



Female, 55 y/o, single, live alone next to my sister

Triplegic, I think that's what it's called.

I can't move anything below my chest.
But I can move my arms, wrists, but no finger movement.
My children said my fingers were working,
but after waiting 3 days, then surgery, they stopped working.
I use a tenadicious (msp) splint on my right hand, arm.
So I can type, eat, do anything light with it.

I live in a 1 room studio by my sister,
and function enough to be alone.
I have health care attendents morning & night every day.
There's a handicapped van that runs 6 days a week.
So I do get to go out & do things by myself.
I've been in the Nursing Home 3 times, totally 4 yrs out of 17 yrs.

I don't work.
Except taking care of me.
Keeping me healthy, no breakdowns, no uti's, bowels moving.
That's a full time job. lol

I had a car wreck.
I've driven & been drunk, high, many times.
I've had wrecks before, little & big.
It was just waiting to happen.
I had a big one a few years before.
My 8 yr old daughter was laying in the back seat asleep.
Neither of us were hurt.
God spared us & I thought I was doing things right.

I didn't drink & drive for awhile.
My 17 y/o daughter sang in a country band.
I would go and drink water and watch after her.
Then of course in time I started drinking again,
but my daughter always drove.
Then I met a guy and he took over the driving.
My daughter met a christian guy & she stopped singing.
My boyfriend & I met there after work.
When it was over I went home w/him,
and left my car there overnight.

I asked him to never let me drive drinking.
To be my designated driver, in my daughter's place.
He agreed he would.
We lived on opposite directions from the bar we went to.
So we always just met there.
Next morning he'd drop me off, and we'd both go home.

One night he said he was ready to go,
and I had family meet us there,
that I hadn't seen in a long time.
I said not yet they just got there.
I was already drunk and don't remember any of this.
He left with my keys laying on the table, as usual.
My family said they looked up
& saw me going out the door a few minutes later.
I can only guess I noticied he wasn't there.
We never went alone.

His house was 15-20 miles out in the country.
I almost made it there, short 3-4 miles.
I made it on the interstate 70 miles an hour.
I was turning a 35 mph corner, with my seat belt on,
and hit some gravel in the road and went in the bar ditch.
I was in a hatch back with a donut tire loose in the back.
When I hit the ditch,
it flew forward & hit me in the back of my neck.
No one else involved Thank God.

Woke up 3 days later with a halo in the hospital.
We're still friends.
I never blamed him.
I was an adult and chose to get drunk.

I do have a comment to say to Oprah,
when she says make sure if you drive you have a designated driver.
"Make sure you can trust the designated driver!"

I'm happy 90% of the time.
That's pretty good.

ANSWER WHAT EVER YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH.

Hi Somebody!!

I love this poll!

Im 19, single, living with my family.. I am paraplegic, three nerves were cut because of a tumor. I study in an online school.. I don't drink, I don't drive but wishing I could. As a whole I am happy, but of course there would be sad moments but hey it's part of life..

Love this poll Somebody even though the questions about accidents was a bit tricky for me.

Anyways, I am 54/single and live alone here in the UK while the rest of my family are in Germany. I have never been married, don't have children, but a wonderful group of very loyal friends.

My injury was due to a disc hernation at T10/T11 due to a lot of falls doing sports, DIY or just walking along the pavement. My balance got worse and worse and thanks to my friends I finally agreed to go to ER. 2 days later I had an operation and after intensive physio and exercisng I can now walk on crutches. I was told that had I come a month later I would never have walked again.
My balance will probably never be good enoug to walk unaided and I don't have sensation in part of my legs and get spasms, but in general I can do pretty much most of what I did before.

I've been working full time since I was dicharged a year ago and apart from another operation to deal with a herniated disc a L5/S1 in September I have not missed a day. I use a wheelchair at work as it is a long way to the loo and I still have issues in that department i.e.I have to be quick.

I can say I am pretty happy with the way things are now, but then it is only a bit over a year since this all happened.

Hi Angel & Angela!

Thanks for answering the poll.

Angel sorry about the surgery.
Glad you live a good life.
I pray you get to drive soon.
I bet you do!
Online school is a plus.
God Bless!


Angela thank God for your friends.
So glad you can walk.
I hope you're quick at work. lol
Too funny.
Thanks for answering.
God Bless~

Glad y'all are happy!
Me too.
Hope to get to know both of you better.
Mona

I am a quad, although according to some documents i'm tetrapeligic. i'm c4,c5 and c6 complete.
I was in a single car accident, and the only one in the car. I wasn't drinking, or on drugs, and was very offended when the firefighters asked me. i wasnt speeding either. Its still unknown what happened though. From waking up after surgery to where i am now i have gained quite a bit back. I still can't use my hands, dont have full sensation and can't walk but i have something.
i live with my mom and sister and have care workers that come in for my morning routine.
i am 22, and single. i dont work, but i am in school. and yes, i am happy.

I put "cycle". To clarify, I was on a bicycle (not motorcycle) and hit from behind by a car at high speed. (60+ mph).
Function: I have full function in left leg, but nerves go weird with weight bearing. Right foot is almost completely gone with back/outer half of lower right leg paralyzed. Upper back/outer right leg has no sensation, along with middle and back/right of pelvic area/hips. I only feel half of what I'm sitting on!

I'm a para after major damage to T12-L2 after a drunk guy ran a red light and crashed into the driver's side of my Acura Integra when I was 17 and on my way home from work. He got off free and I got life starred. I'm over it...

I'm 20 now and single...I live independently while attending college for speech language pathology.

I never did drugs...I was always in sports and didn't want it to effect my performance. I never really drank before, and after my car accident caused by someone else drinking...I don't drink at all.

I'm very happy. I love my life.

Nice to read about everybody else!!!

Paraplegic with CES
Accident: fell off a ladder while doing home repairs
I live with my wife of 31 years
I’ve had some function return, and some leave
I’m 50
I guess you could say that I caused the accident since I was the only one involved.
No drugs or alcohol involved
I’ve been back to work full-time for about four months now – was out for four months, then part time for a month

Hi, I am answering for my husband, Jon. He was injured in a head on collision nine years ago on July 4. He was going to friends for a party and he was driving a little WV Karma Ghia. A 15 year old boy lost control of his dad's Suburban and came over the median and hit Jon . The boy was not hurt but he was drunk and had no license. Jon had lots of injuries but the worst was a C-2 break in his neck. The Drs called it an internal decapatation. He was in a coma for 3 weeks. He went from hospital to a nursing home to his own home. He needs 24 hour staff because he is on a vent, and needs suctioning often and needs to be turned every couple of hours.

Jon was a teacher before he got hurt, but now he works as a textbook editor from home. He is completely dependant, but is very self sufficient in any way he can. He manages his staff, pays household bills, insurance , does our taxes , orders his supplies and maintains friendships on the internet.

Last year was a terrible year for him physically. He had pneumonias, infections, kidney stones and pressure sores to deal with, but he is doing very well now. (Knock on wood)
We have just returned to the US after years of living in the UK, and we are in the process of getting a new home. We are expecting our first child later in the year. (Which is a whole other story! )

Jon has had a lot of good things happen to him, and a lot of bad things happen to him. He has the ability to focus on the good things however, and he keeps himself interested in what is going on around him. His coping skills are amazing and his sense of humor is keen. He is a very easy person to love and admire.

LMAO that was quite the poll, you now know as much about me as I do hahahahaa...

It is interesting how alot of votes for level of injury where for C-5 area but on here most are Para's...... Did anyone else notice this!!!

I'm 19 year old young lady who caught some bad bug that turned into pneumonia, which progressively got worse. My heart stopped and the doctors believe my spinal cord lost oxygen (or something) when they were in attempt to shock me back to life. I'm still admitted at St. Luke's Hospital in Wisconsin and I have about a month to go until I can go home and leave rehab. I don't work, partially because I'm in the hospital. I'd do online stuff, but insurance has their claws dug deep about it. I plan to continue my college studies in the fall, giving me March - August to get used to being a paraplegic. I'll live with my father, step-mother, and three brothers once I return.