47 replies to this topic

[A trophy guy]

I'll say the same thing here that I say to people who comment to me as to "how strong I am" and how they "could never" do what I've done; you never know what you are capable of dealing with until that reality is thrust upon you.

[greybeard]

Hi Dimitri, It seems your first post slipped under my radar, so would like to welcome you to the forum now. If you've had a L3-L5 fusion, you've most definitely had a SCI. So no reason to feel out of place here.

Don't apologise for your posts. It's good you are still around to write them, and as you've already discovered, this is probably the best place you can find in which to vent your frustrations etc, to folks who really understand. I hope you stick around.

[A trophy guy]

Dmitri-it's easy to say you should have taken valuable lessons from your near-catastrophe; easy to say you should find happiness in your luckiness. But when your life lacks a negative, it's human nature to take that absence for granted; assuming this negative is one that hasn't been experienced by the person before (like a recurring cancer or SCI, etc). You are aware of how lucky you have been, try to use that knowledge to make your life more complete. But don't beat yourself up for taking your lack of a SCI for granted; it's human nature.

Edited by A trophy guy, 22 March 2012 - 12:20 AM.

[edlee]

Dude,,, don't worry about pissing people off. We all have,,,, If it gets too bad,, Simon or Trinity will verbally spank you,, so you'll know when to knock it off. On the other hand,,,, a few more demonstrative posts might be just what the doctor ordered for this site. A few of us, here,, enjoy rattling the pews,, as it were.

As for using your condition to rationalize a lack of effort,,,,, again,,, we all have,,, but knowing it, helps to stop it from getting worse. Me,,, I use my advanced age for MY ratioalization,,, and since I'm retired anyway,, I plan to keep right on doing it.

Anyway,, keep us in the loop, Dimitri,, we like to know what's happening .
ed

[Tetracyclone]

Could I do it twice? Maybe. Would I? I rather doubt it...

[Astereth]

Thank u all: greybeard, trophyguy, and edlee - once again!. Takes me forever to write (As i ll always delete unfinished posts). The idea of not having a true negative feedback really connects: I use this kind of thinking to justify all kinds of bad behavior, and bad luck as well.
It's always funny how the mind works: I happen to take a bus, which passes a prison on my way to work every day (this is an inner city thing, and I am reasonably sure none of the other commuters even take note of it), so every time I see it, my mood always improves.
Now, I realize that what I ve just said sounds really crass and insensitive, yet I am very often able to lift my mood enough to appear as one of the happiest ppl at work.
Just to clarify.................................. ( started to write the same things which I keep on deleting for the last couple of weeks; can't go on doing this - otherwise my reply will never materialize).

[Astereth]

Thank u all: greybeard, trophyguy, and edlee - once again!. Takes me forever to write (As i ll always delete unfinished posts). The idea of not having a true negative feedback really connects: I use this kind of thinking to justify all kinds of bad behavior, and bad luck as well.
It's always funny how the mind works: I happen to take a bus, which passes a prison on my way to work every day (this is an inner city thing, and I am reasonably sure none of the other commuters even take note of it), so every time I see it, my mood always improves.
Now, I realize that what I ve just said sounds really crass and insensitive, yet I am very often able to lift my mood enough to appear as one of the happiest ppl at work.
Just to clarify.................................. ( started to write the same things which I keep on deleting for the last couple of weeks; can't go on doing this - otherwise my reply will never materialize).

This kind of appeared as if I have gone to prison or broken the law or some such at some point, this is not the case. What I was trying to say, is that precisely because I didn't, and also didn't end up paralyzed, I ended up wasting a lot of time (not doing anything nefarious, but also not performing up to my potential) -

In fact, I was trying to respond to "a trophy guy" here, to "a lack of negative" post.

[Astereth]

Thank u all: greybeard, trophyguy, and edlee - once again!. Takes me forever to write (As i ll always delete unfinished posts). The idea of not having a true negative feedback really connects: I use this kind of thinking to justify all kinds of bad behavior, and bad luck as well.
It's always funny how the mind works: I happen to take a bus, which passes a prison on my way to work every day (this is an inner city thing, and I am reasonably sure none of the other commuters even take note of it), so every time I see it, my mood always improves.
Now, I realize that what I ve just said sounds really crass and insensitive, yet I am very often able to lift my mood enough to appear as one of the happiest ppl at work.
Just to clarify.................................. ( started to write the same things which I keep on deleting for the last couple of weeks; can't go on doing this - otherwise my reply will never materialize).

This kind of appeared as if I have gone to prison or broken the law or some such at some point, this is not the case. What I was trying to say, is that precisely because I didn't, and also didn't end up paralyzed, I ended up wasting a lot of time (not doing anything nefarious, but also not performing up to my potential) -

In fact, I was trying to respond to "a trophy guy" here, to "a lack of negative" post.

Ok, I just realized that I have equated a disability with a loss of freedom ( in a legal sense) and was about to delete the post, but will leave this decision to a moderator

[edlee]

Each post is food for thought,,,, never delete.
ed

[Edinburgh Colin]

Each post is food for thought,,,, never delete.
ed

I agree if you had the thought and held it long enough to commit it to a post then it's relevant, so long as it's not offensive or derogatory, well not very anyway!

[Stand]

If I recovered and it happened again, I would have hoped it had killed me the second time around.

[love&hate]

I am going to have to be honest on this one. Most of you see inspiration in this story. All I can see is inability to learn from past mistakes. I cannot imagine doing the same mistake twice... mistake that had so far going consequences. This lady was very lucky to being able to recover the first time due to incomplete injury and a spine that could make the connections. She was given a second chance .. something most of us can only dream about. Was it the passion that led her to repeat themistake? In my mind this doesnt make sense. I would never, ever let that happen again and she not only let it happen again but also in the same circumstances. I just cannot comprehend. Arent we suppose to learn on past mistakes, adapt so that we do not put ourselves in the same situation again and become stronger.

You ask me if I could could do it again. I think I not only would be able to do it again. I would be a lot better at it. Given the knowledge I have now that I did not have when I was injured. I am more mature, know what to expect from sci. I know how to get the most out of what I have left. I also am better prepared financially and mentally I would be more demanding knowing what I need. In a first place I would never let that happen again.

Edited by love&hate, 05 April 2012 - 04:17 AM.

[debdeb606]

wow!!!

[Astereth]

Another writing attempt, following David Foster Wallace book. Suicide is always interesting, but how far can it take one. A lot of the times, not very far. Regardless if I had children or not, I would like them to be aware of potential pitfalls of life in general. More often than not, they won't listen to me, or pretend not to, but this is also normal. Love&hate mentioned the fact that some of the repeat stories do not necessarily have to be inspirational, even cautionary in a negative sense; still those stories do bring a point across. Sometimes a simple "wow!!!" message is enough to jerk you into action, that is if one has enough movement left to do it. If not, well, tough luck, but happens all the time as well. Would I be able to cure AD with 100K+ articles published in peer-reviewed journals? Extremely unlikely, but pushing your luck was never a handicap ,

[stenosisDwarf]

hi, i am unucky enough to have been wheelchair ridden twice from 2 different ailments. curently suffering through a third and scared like hel to have to go back to basics. biggest problem is that both times i fell to pieces and was suicidal. it helps to have people who love you and like victor frankel said "a purposefull driven life".

[Astereth]

hi, i am unucky enough to have been wheelchair ridden twice from 2 different ailments. curently suffering through a third and scared like hel to have to go back to basics. biggest problem is that both times i fell to pieces and was suicidal. it helps to have people who love you and like victor frankel said "a purposefull driven life".

Darkness may seem like the happiest place, oftentimes it is. It ain't always prudent to announce that fact to your loved ones, for the fear of getting them too involved in your own world. But once you are truly trapped, there is little else you can do. I do not entirely agree with love&hate, specifically on the point of being able to adapt and to learn from a single occurrence, this just doesn't happen very often. Yes, once any one of our capabilities is permanently taken away, we are inclined to think that were it not to happen, we would have learned from that mistake. But, given a second chance, even on a smaller scale, (in my opinion) we would be more than happy to attempt to do exactly the same, if not even a more daring feat. I guess we are just trying to pretend that we are truly independent, and whatever we do will never ever affect nobody else,.....

[bantughost]

First time around was hell for me. No specialist hospital or rehab facilities and so all of us,family, doctors nurses and all, were learning things as we went along (with the inherent mistakes and mishaps that such entails). Not sure I'd have the courage to go through it again, Lord forbid. Then again ... I thought I couldn't manage the first time.

Inspiring fighting spirit and story all the same. Thanks for sharing.

[saultite]

I am going to have to be honest on this one. Most of you see inspiration in this story. All I can see is inability to learn from past mistakes. I cannot imagine doing the same mistake twice... mistake that had so far going consequences. This lady was very lucky to being able to recover the first time due to incomplete injury and a spine that could make the connections. She was given a second chance .. something most of us can only dream about. Was it the passion that led her to repeat themistake? In my mind this doesnt make sense. I would never, ever let that happen again and she not only let it happen again but also in the same circumstances. I just cannot comprehend. Arent we suppose to learn on past mistakes, adapt so that we do not put ourselves in the same situation again and become stronger.

You ask me if I could could do it again. I think I not only would be able to do it again. I would be a lot better at it. Given the knowledge I have now that I did not have when I was injured. I am more mature, know what to expect from sci. I know how to get the most out of what I have left. I also am better prepared financially and mentally I would be more demanding knowing what I need. In a first place I would never let that happen again.

What if you were injured in a car accident....would you never ride in a car again? Many things in life are risky.