[dexter]

Dear friends,

It's been since July 11, 2007 that I moved out from being on my own. I used to live in a great little two bedroom apartment in Bothell, Washington. Later that night I had a tragic accident diving into the pool and broke my neck. I spent 3 1/2 months in the Harborview medical center rehab unit. I'm what you call a C4 quadriplegic. My friends and family moved everything out of my old apartment and it has now been almost 2 years since I have lived back home with family.

I will finally be moving out to live in my own place! A close family friend of ours told me about a small place they have for rent a couple miles down the road in Edmonds, WA. It ended up being a perfect for what I need to be able to live on my own again. It's a small little two bedroom house that will be perfect for my situation. The second bedroom of the house we are going to use for a roommate to help turn me side to side at night to avoid pressure sores in trade for rent. I'm right down the street from Edmonds Community College so it's going to give someone a great opportunity that is in need of a free place to stay and study while going to school. We have done some modifications to make it handicapped accessible.

We have knocked down the wall to the master bedroom and rebuilt it with double french doors so it is wide enough for me to get in and out already. There is a small den that we turned into a roll in shower, a handicapped accessible bathroom and a utility room for all my medical supplies and equipment. The back porch has a small deck which we are going to move a shed and pave a small parking spot for my car. It will make a great entryway because the doors of my vehicle will open up and the ramp will fold right out onto the deck. The front door only has a couple of steps to get into the house. We repaved the stairs so it has a small sloping ramp into the house. It'll be nice for friends of mine that are wheelchair bound themselves so they can come and visit or I can leave through the front door.


A BIG HUGE THANKS to all the support that I get from everybody out there.

Dex

"It isn't how far you go, but how far you push yourself getting there that counts"

[Bob C]

Hey, Dex,
You appear to be on a roll. Keep things moving. One piece of advice from my experience: Be sure to have good backup for your personal care. PCAs get sick,have emergencies, etc., and you need to hate others who can step in immediately. Good luck and give us a shout from time to time, especially when problems turn up. There are lots of people more than willing to help coming up with solutions.

[twisted_ophelia]

The place looks great, Dex! Congrats!

[StillFingers]

Congrats Dex enjoy your new found freedom nice lookin place, sounds comfy and

[dexter]

StillFingers, on Jun 23 2009, 08:45 AM, said:

Congrats Dex enjoy your new found freedom nice lookin place, sounds comfy and

Guess what? I'm in my new house!

First night tonight!

[KarenFerguson]

The new place looks great! I really like the french doors to the master.

[araitn]

Congratulations Dexter!

Your new place looks and sounds great.

Hope you can find a good reliable assistant.

Enjoy!

[StillFingers]

dexter, on Jun 23 2009, 05:28 PM, said:

StillFingers, on Jun 23 2009, 08:45 AM, said:

Congrats Dex enjoy your new found freedom nice lookin place, sounds comfy and

Guess what? I'm in my new house!

First night tonight!

Dexter, your first night...I imagine a bit oh my and a lot oh yes, it was for me...enjoy

[kgriggs75]

congrats man

[dexter]

It has been fantastic living on my own. I'm amazed that I've even gotten to this point. I do have to say, it is taken a long time to unpack everything not being able to use my arms or legs myself. lol.

But hey, I've been pretty kick ass place now that it's almost done. I'm going to put some pictures up here very soon. I've done a pretty good job at making it look like my old bachelor pad I had before. I feel like the same old me. It just a little while to get here.

Here are some pictures of my two year sci anniversary party. I think it's always good to get your friends together on a tough day.

Wait until you see these pictures of the place itself. It looks awesome!

Life is tough as someone with no movement of in my arms or legs. You just have to do it anyway you can.

Thanks again for everyones support.

Dex

This post has been edited by dexter: 21 July 2009 - 12:27 AM

[nomis]

That's very pleasing to hear, Dexter. Congrats on a great achievement. Looks like you've got some golden people around you.