10 replies to this topic

[Shane G]

On March 16, 1997 I broke T9 and T10 on racing dirtbikes and was lifeflighted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN where doctors told me I would never walk again and that I needed to get used to being a paraplegic. From Vanderbilt I was transferred to Stallworth Rehab for a short period of time then to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. While at the Shepherd Center I started regaining muscle strength in my legs and progressed from a wheelchair to a walker, then crutches to a cane and eventually to walking without assistance.

Today I'm training to ride a bicycle across the United States in the spring of 2013 to bring awareness to people with spinal cord injuries. You can read more about my bicycle ride across the United States on my website and blog: http://www.ShaneGoddard.com and you can follow me on twitter at #ShaneLGoddard

Thank you for your support!

Never quit.

Shane Goddard

[KayDub]

Shane G, on 21 October 2011 - 08:47 PM, said:

On March 16, 1997 I broke T9 and T10 on racing dirtbikes and was lifeflighted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN where doctors told me I would never walk again and that I needed to get used to being a paraplegic. From Vanderbilt I was transferred to Stallworth Rehab for a short period of time then to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. While at the Shepherd Center I started regaining muscle strength in my legs and progressed from a wheelchair to a walker, then crutches to a cane and eventually to walking without assistance.

Today I'm training to ride a bicycle across the United States in the spring of 2013 to bring awareness to people with spinal cord injuries. You can read more about my bicycle ride across the United States on my website and blog: http://www.ShaneGoddard.com and you can follow me on twitter at #ShaneLGoddard

Thank you for your support!

Never quit.

Shane Goddard

Thanks for sharing your story. Right after your accident were you able to move at all? What ASIA score did your doctor give you? I'm also assuming you were diagnosed as an incomplete.

Sorry if I come off asking too many questions, but I've seen a lot of "former" quads/paras who now make their living off traveling around and sharing their story and how hard work and/or God allowed them to walk again. That leaves us paras/quads who use chairs left wondering, am I not working hard enough? Does God hate me? I've also just seen a lot of these profitable motivational speakers actually have an accident that was more concentrated in broken vertebrae instead of a severed or majorly damaged spinal cord.

All SCIs are different and it's hard to say hard work and God are what make you walk again. Trust me, a lot of us here are busting our a*** and still use chairs.

So congrats on your accomplishments, I'm not trying to discredit them! You just left your purpose of being on this site a little blank. Do you want to share your experiences or do you want us to look to you as a way to "better" ourselves the way you did? See how the difference can mean a lot. So welcome and as long as you validate our experiences, we'll validate yours. And good luck with your bike ride!

[Tetracyclone]

Hey Kaydub,

Well said.

[Shane G]

KayDub, on 21 October 2011 - 11:18 PM, said:

Shane G, on 21 October 2011 - 08:47 PM, said:

On March 16, 1997 I broke T9 and T10 on racing dirtbikes and was lifeflighted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN where doctors told me I would never walk again and that I needed to get used to being a paraplegic. From Vanderbilt I was transferred to Stallworth Rehab for a short period of time then to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia. While at the Shepherd Center I started regaining muscle strength in my legs and progressed from a wheelchair to a walker, then crutches to a cane and eventually to walking without assistance.

Today I'm training to ride a bicycle across the United States in the spring of 2013 to bring awareness to people with spinal cord injuries. You can read more about my bicycle ride across the United States on my website and blog: http://www.ShaneGoddard.com and you can follow me on twitter at #ShaneLGoddard

Thank you for your support!

Never quit.

Shane Goddard

Thanks for sharing your story. Right after your accident were you able to move at all? What ASIA score did your doctor give you? I'm also assuming you were diagnosed as an incomplete.

Sorry if I come off asking too many questions, but I've seen a lot of "former" quads/paras who now make their living off traveling around and sharing their story and how hard work and/or God allowed them to walk again. That leaves us paras/quads who use chairs left wondering, am I not working hard enough? Does God hate me? I've also just seen a lot of these profitable motivational speakers actually have an accident that was more concentrated in broken vertebrae instead of a severed or majorly damaged spinal cord.

All SCIs are different and it's hard to say hard work and God are what make you walk again. Trust me, a lot of us here are busting our a*** and still use chairs.

So congrats on your accomplishments, I'm not trying to discredit them! You just left your purpose of being on this site a little blank. Do you want to share your experiences or do you want us to look to you as a way to "better" ourselves the way you did? See how the difference can mean a lot. So welcome and as long as you validate our experiences, we'll validate yours. And good luck with your bike ride!

I appreciate the questions.

I had a traumatic injury, I was lifeflighted to the hospital and I don't remember the first few days that I was in ICU. When I remember waking up, there were doctors at the foot of my bed lifting up my legs and they had the little daisy wheel with spikes that they were running up my foot and legs to see if I reacted. I didn't react, I was completely paralyzed from about my diaphragm down, not only that but I had also lost the ability to control my bowels and bladder as well as the ability to feel pain, hot or cold. At the age of 15 I had to start doing a catheter every 3-4 hours and using suppositories every day.

At Vanderbilt they told my Mom I had a complete spinal cord injury then when we got to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta they told me I had an incomplete injury. It was obvious about that time because I started getting movement back in my right leg.

I have never questioned anyone's work ethic that is in a wheelchair. I know I am better today because of God's miracles. When I was lying in the bed, completely paralyzed from the diaphragm down, I prayed to God for a sign to be able to walk again; within 60 seconds I could move my toe. I have had other experiences like that one, which leads me to believe, due to my belief in Jesus Christ, that it is my obligation to share those miracles with as many people as I can.

Am I healed 100% today? Absolutely not! I only had about 50% of the muscles come back in my right leg, which makes me walk with a very noticeable limp. When I go to pee, I can't just pee, I have to really think about it and sometimes it takes a good minute before I can pee. To this day I don't have control of my bowels and I still can't feel pain, hot or cold from my belly button down. Every day that I get out of bed I'm instantly reminded about my spinal cord injury because my legs will be so tight and spastic that I can't instantly start walking. I trip, stumble and fall all the time, but I'm ecstatic that I am able to trip, stumble and fall.

Why am I here you ask? I had my spinal cord injury at the age of 15, which has been 15 years ago now. Even though I have improved dramatically over being confined to a wheelchair, I feel as though I have been living half of my life in a daze and I don't want to continue life like that. I had been reading these and other forums for a while before I registered and I have found motivation and inspiration through these forums. Reading these forums are actually what made me decided to ride a bicycle across the United States. Even though I am able to walk on my own after my spinal cord injury, I had gotten complacent and started taking my independence for granted again. When I started reading these forums, it made me think differently. I said to myself, "Here I am, almost fully recovered from a spinal cord injury and I have started taking my mobility for granted again. I bet there's not one person in a wheelchair that wouldn't love to trade places with me right now. If I looked at myself today through my eyes when I was in a wheelchair, I would be disappointed that I haven't accomplished more. It's time to get to work."

I'm on this forum because each and every one of you give me the motivation to keep going. When I read what people are going through, it helps me to remember how it was for me and sometimes, how it still is for me. When I'm riding the bicycle and I'm tired and ready to quit, I think about something or someone I've read about on here and say to myself, if they had this opportunity, I bet they wouldn't quit.

[KayDub]

Thanks for sharing more details. It's clear from the get go you had an incomplete injury, which makes you very lucky and set you up for improvement right from the start. Furthermore, you were able to move by rehab, a lot of incomplete injuries take a lot longer than that to regain anything and it's usually that first 6 months to a year that's crucial. That said, going around telling people you were "completely paralysed" is incorrect. You did not have a complete spinal cord injury and not being able to move doesn't mean you did. Yes from a stylistic standpoint I suppose it's right, but not from a clinical standpoint. When you're in a SCI forum and tell people you were completely paralysed, they'll assume you had a complete injury. Remember when you share your story on the SCI forums, we know the system, we've been hurt/sick ourselves, or our relatives have, we've talked to more doctors than we want and have spent time in rehab and PT.

I can only speak for myself, but because of this, I don't believe you need to lay it on so thick when you tell your story here. It seems like it's set up for the general able bodied public who has no idea about SCI. The drama is unnecessary in my opinion. You say you want to share the miracle from Jesus that you have regained some function from being completely paralysed.... but in reality it seems as if you had an incomplete SCI and with the required hard work, PT and medical intervention you recovered along the lines that the scientific community has determined many incomplete injuries do in the first 6 months (and like the medical community has determined, bowel and bladder issues are some of the last things to be regained since they are controlled by the lowest levels of the spinal cord). I'm sure your faith had a lot to do with your motivation and attitude and that's great. I'm not trying to undermine your story, I'm incredibly happy for you. I too have an incomplete injury and am in PT and hope to walk again someday. The little schtick might work with the general public but a lot of people here have actual COMPLETE spinal cord injuries and no number of miracles from Jesus or Buddah or Allah or the Flying Spaghetti Monster will make neurons fire from the brain across a severed spinal cord. Because not a single person I've seen healed by Christ has had a true complete SCI, instead they've had incomplete SCIs or better yet, broken vertebrae with little to no spinal cord damage. You can have your faith, I'm not trying to tear you down for that (I belong to a youth group myself) but it's ridiculous to twist facts and then attribute medical truths to a miracle from Jesus. If you think He saved your life when you got injured or allowed you to only have an incomplete injury that's one thing, but to say He's the reason you're walking... well that's not fair to the many people with complete injuries who do (and don't) believe in Jesus who won't walk without another advancement in medicine.

Good luck with the bike ride, it's a really great cause. But it will be a better cause if you don't go around the country misrepresenting the truth about spinal cord injuries to the general public. We struggle with their ignorance on a regular basis, no reason for it to be perpetuated by one

[KayDub]

Oh and I forgot to add, with all due respect, I don't want to change places with anyone just because they're not in a wheelchair and I am. I'm pretty content with who I am and what I've accomplished, chair or not. Don't assume all wheelchair users have low self-esteem and self-image just because you did when you were in a chair.

[Parachute]

Hi Shane G

So what, you made a mistake in what you have said on a forum. Or maybe you were not clear No big deal, I too have made mistakes in what I have written. We all could go on at everything that is said. This forum is here to help others. Not everyone will be helped but if there is one person out there that can be helped, then it was worth your while writing on here. There will be some one out there that you have reached saying, I want to recover like Shane G or recover more than Shane G.

Anyway, you are still Paraplegic and not former Paraplegic.

Good luck once again with the bike ride across the United States as I mentioned elsewhere and I know that you will reach others and give them inspiration and more hope.


Parachute

[Shane G]

Parachute, on 22 October 2011 - 09:39 PM, said:

Hi Shane G

So what, you made a mistake in what you have said on a forum. Or maybe you were not clear No big deal, I too have made mistakes in what I have written. We all could go on at everything that is said. This forum is here to help others. Not everyone will be helped but if there is one person out there that can be helped, then it was worth your while writing on here. There will be some one out there that you have reached saying, I want to recover like Shane G or recover more than Shane G.

Anyway, you are still Paraplegic and not former Paraplegic.

Good luck once again with the bike ride across the United States as I mentioned elsewhere and I know that you will reach others and give them inspiration and more hope.


Parachute

I appreciate your kind words and support.

Shane G.

[KayDub]

I wasn't pointing out a typo, I was pointing out a major discrepancy in a story that he's not just sharing here but on a website dedicated to his struggle. The kind of discrepancy that can come across as false advertising. I'm not trying to ruin anyone's hope (as was explicitly stated in my comment), I'm trying to make sure everything is out in the open here. People with SCIs have a hard enough time dealing with ABs without these sorts of stories being our main representation to them.

[Shane G]

KayDub, on 22 October 2011 - 10:15 PM, said:

I wasn't pointing out a typo, I was pointing out a major discrepancy in a story that he's not just sharing here but on a website dedicated to his struggle. The kind of discrepancy that can come across as false advertising. I'm not trying to ruin anyone's hope (as was explicitly stated in my comment), I'm trying to make sure everything is out in the open here. People with SCIs have a hard enough time dealing with ABs without these sorts of stories being our main representation to them.

There's nothing being misrepresented, I was completely paralyzed from my injury down, I couldn't move a muscle. I didn't say I had a complete spinal cord injury.

[KayDub]

Shane G, on 23 October 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

KayDub, on 22 October 2011 - 10:15 PM, said:

I wasn't pointing out a typo, I was pointing out a major discrepancy in a story that he's not just sharing here but on a website dedicated to his struggle. The kind of discrepancy that can come across as false advertising. I'm not trying to ruin anyone's hope (as was explicitly stated in my comment), I'm trying to make sure everything is out in the open here. People with SCIs have a hard enough time dealing with ABs without these sorts of stories being our main representation to them.

There's nothing being misrepresented, I was completely paralyzed from my injury down, I couldn't move a muscle. I didn't say I had a complete spinal cord injury.

Most of the population has no clue about the difference... it's a subtle semantic detail that makes you feel better on a minor technicality, but in reality isn't right. I still think it's very misleading. You moved by the time you went to rehab... that's even better than a lot of incomplete injuries. If you go around saying you were completely paralysed and can walk now because of Jesus and hard work, I don't see why the people you tell this story to won't wonder why the rest of us lazy bums don't do the same. Except, ya know, the actual differences in our injuries. Would you want someone with tetanus going around and saying they were completely paralysed and learned to walk again, as a representation of spinal cord injuries? I wouldn't. It's better to say after your injury for a short period, you were unable to move, then regained that motion when you went to rehab. Once again I'm not trying to tear down your experience, you worked very hard and that's commendable. It's just not fair to go around representing yourself as someone who was completely paralysed from a spinal cord injury and learned to walk again... and then coming on a site with people who have actual complete spinal cord injuries and will not walk without new medical advances, no matter how much Jesus loves (or hates) them, and acting as if you're some kind of motivating story. Because while you think you're technically correct, the social connotation of that is something else. You're more than welcome on this site, you can give a lot and learn a lot from the people here, but we've all seen people who come on this site, flaunting their miracle recovery with a complete disregard to science. Why would you come onto a site that gives people with SCI agency, to say things like how all wheelchair users would want to be you. Like I said, I'm perfectly fine in my chair.

Edited by KayDub, 23 October 2011 - 03:55 PM.