382 replies to this topic

[bella1987]

hi everyone (especially Kris as she gave me the strength do post this)

im 22 and 2 months ago i had a car accident im now L2-S5
i, like, Kris and now i realize others too, am very ashamed and embaressed about what happened to me, it was my fault.
I was driving in a very powerful car, thank god i was alone, because it was a rainy night and i went round a corner too fast, the car rolled 4-5 times i think, i dont remember much expect that i thought i was going to die.
When i came too i was in hospital. I was pregnat at the time of the accident but obviously i lost the baby, when i came too all i could think of was the babi and why my legs wouldnt move. Ive had car accidents before that might sound silly like im a realli bad driver but im not realli im just an addrenline junkie (well was) adn the first thing i was used to doing was cheking everything, u know, that everything works arms legs all that kinda stuff, well this time my legs didnt but the weird thing was i could feel them and everything hurt. The pain was bad i thought i was going to die.
Eventually they explained to me that i had an accident that i lost the baby, that i had 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung, spinal injuries, internal bleeding (they acctually had to take out a small part of my liver because they couldnt stop the bleeding) and i broke my right wrist in two places. So all-in-all im lucky to be alive, and i know there are poeple s much worse off then me but right now i realli dont know how im going to get through this, i feel like my life is over. I was engaged before the accident (bta do u catch ur self measuring ur life before and after the accident or illness whatever the case may be) but once he found out i might not walk again he left. My friends dont know how to talk to me i onli see pity in their eyez and that just makes me mad.
If anyone has any words of wisdom, how do u get through it, how did u make ur self get up in the morning, or even if u just wanna talk ill be happi to listen plz let me know.....
Once again thank you to Kris this is the first time i have had the courage to talk about what happened.

[Notwheels]

I can't believe it's been almost 15 years since my MVA. I was driving on my way home from work. It was shortly after 5 pm. The visibility was clear and the road conditions were good. I was driving down the access road which parallels the state highway. The access road is now one way. It was two way at the time of my accident. I suspect my accident may have been part of the evidence to make it one way.

Anyway, I was driving at 35 mph (about 56 kph for you folks on the other system) when a car pulled out in front of me from a stop sign in the Wal-mart parking lot. I don't know if the driver didn't see me coming (I was driving a sky blue car, but I did have my lights on) or if he just misjudged the timing on the turn. I was doing 35 mph and had enough time to take my foot off the gas pedal and get it over the brake pedal, but not enough time to push down the brake pedal. I broadsided him and the two vehicles, now merged, went down the road several hundred feet. It was a classic "T-Bone" wreck.

He was driving a Dodge sedan, brand new I might add (I found this out later). The force of the accident was so great that my forehead hit the roof of the car above the windshield, despite the fact I had on a seat belt and shoulder harness (pre-airbag car). I suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury and a rupture of the C5-C7 discs, but amazingly I didn't break my neck. There happened to be an ambulance in the line of traffic behind me. The ambulance driver saw the accident. He told me when he reached me that he was expecting to find a corpse in my car.

I was rushed to the emergency room on a backboard and in a neck collar, because I was complaining of neck and back pain. The ER doctor didn't do so much as take an x-ray. He took me off the back board and out of the neck collar and had me move my arms and shoulders around and my neck. He decided, after 3 hours in the ER, that there wasn't anything wrong with me, gave me a couple of prescriptions and discharged me.

My husband had been to a seminar the month before on Traumatic Brain Injury and recognized immediately I had one. Another visit to a different ER turned up no major injuries. Some three months after the accident, I finally got in to see a neurologist, who also didn't think there was anything major wrong because my symptoms were so "benign." Just for grins, he told me, he would do an MRI of my neck, but he didn't expect to find anything.

Three days later he called me and I could hear the outright panic in his voice. The MRI showed that the discs at C5, C6, and C7 were sitting squarely on my spinal cord. It took another three months to get in to see a neurosurgeon and I finally had fusion surgery in February 1995 after the accident happened in November 1994. I recovered from the surgery and got some function back, but not all. No rehab, no nothing, like I should have had. By the way, the force of the accident was so great that the discs were literally liquified.

In 2003 the symptoms I had after the accident starting returning. It took me a year to convince my family doctor to order another MRI of my neck. It showed the disc at C4 had ruptured from the mechanical force of the fusion and was sitting on my spinal cord. In 2004 I had another fusion. I didn't get much function back. Again, no therapy, no rehab.

In 2005 the symptoms came back again, but this time with a difference. I began having to think about breathing. It wasn't automatic like it always had been. So I went back to the doctor and again it took me a year to convince him to order an MRI. The MRI showed the C3 disc had ruptured and was sitting squarely on my spinal cord. So in 2006 I had a fusion at C3. I didn't get much function back after the surgery, but breathing became automatic again, for which I was very greatful.

My legs have always been undependable since the accident, but I didn't want to go into a 'chair until I had to. Last year I fell and broke my pelvis and my husband and I finally decided it was time, so I've got the appointment in November for my fitting.

I don't have a lot of use of my hands, but I can type. I can sign my name, but I can't write by hand although I can manage to chicken scratch out a check. I also don't have much strength in my upper body.

I guess that about covers it.

Carolyn

[dangerousdave]

Hi all
Was just a biker on my way to college when the infernal white van man decided to wreck my life plans as they were in 1973.
Got back on a bike in 1998 and quess what.
Those silly sods in cars are trying their utmost to do it again and again and again
Cars come out of sideroads
Cars do u turns right in front of me
Cars turn left when indicating right
Cars turn right when indicating left
Trucks switch lanes without any due thought process
Car driver brain cells incapable of processing speed and distance
A nice sunny day and clear country roads, until the car in front jams on his brakes....why?

Sorry for the rant
Just been cut up again.............didn't see you

[greybeard]

dangerousdave, on Oct 27 2009, 01:12 PM, said:

Hi all
Was just a biker on my way to college when the infernal white van man decided to wreck my life plans as they were in 1973.
Got back on a bike in 1998 and quess what.
Those silly sods in cars are trying their utmost to do it again and again and again
Cars come out of sideroads
Cars do u turns right in front of me
Cars turn left when indicating right
Cars turn right when indicating left
Trucks switch lanes without any due thought process
Car driver brain cells incapable of processing speed and distance
A nice sunny day and clear country roads, until the car in front jams on his brakes....why?

Sorry for the rant
Just been cut up again.............didn't see you

When I was a bike rider (I can just about remember back that far hehe), I always thought that every would-be car driver should have to do at least 6 months on a bike before getting a car licence. I think that the standard of most car drivers has got even worse since those happy days. I'm glad I stopped riding when I did as I would probably have been wiped out long ago.

[mcferguson]

I rolled my Suzuki XL-7 while driving home to San Antonio from Kansas City after Thanksgiving on Interstate 35 near Ardmore, Oklahoma on 30 Nov 08. I don't remember anything about the accident, just waking up 3 days later (1 day after my back surgery) and my wife telling me we've been in an accident and that the doctors say I'll never walk again. She has some minor lingering injuries and our 3 children are perfectly fine (thank God). In addition to shattering my T6 vertebra, I had 9 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a cracked scapula, a cracked sternum, a messed up left shoulder, and 250 stitches in my scalp. I was in the ICU for 6 days and then a regular hospital bed for 7 more. After that, I was transferred to Warm Springs Rehab Center in San Antonio, where I stayed for another 6 weeks.

[semirameris]

My storys a little different from most. When I was about 12 I started to get really tired walking, by 13 I was walking pigeon toed and dragging my right foot. My parents took me to see an orthopaedic doctor who told us i was just being a hypochondriac and that there was nothing wrong, so naturally as he was a doctor we believed him and carried on as normal. Fast forward to the age of 17 and my walking had got no better, I had developed spasms and severe pain in my hips and knees, however still believing the original doctor I convinced myself it was because I was lazy and just needed to do more excersise. Then I started to fall over alot, in the street, down the stairs and generally whenever i was stood up. I also started to develop problems with my right hand. My parents eventually took me to the doctor who referred me to a neurologist. Fast forward to now, I am 20 years old, I can't walk more than 2 or 3 steps, and use a wheelchair, I have severe arthritis in my hips and knees, and am unable to write or use my right hand other than for the simplest of tasks. No one knows whats wrong with me or why my body is doing this, But theres no point in moaning about it. I like to think of it this way, I get around more now than I have in years

[The Black Sheep]

I'm new here, and I'm not really sure how to introduce myself. I don't have anyone around me that I can really relate to, and after reading a few posts I wanted to join.


Well, Hi everyone. I'm Ashley. I'm 24 and live in Upstate New York. I fell off a trampoline when I was 13, and nothing immediately happened. About a week later I came down with a fever and a really bad headache. I don't remember a small part of that day, but my mom said I was running around the house complaining about how bad my headache was. I took 2 asprin and tried to take a nap. I remember my feet felt like they were falling asleep, but didn't think much of it. I never freaked out about a foot falling asleep before. The pins and needles rose up to my knees before I fell asleep, and I woke up when I began to have a hard time breathing. When I tried sitting and standing up, I had no balance. I fell on the floor and it was the creepiest feeling to feel the cold tile on my hands, but not my legs.

2 weeks in the hospital, 8 MRIs, 2 CAT scans, a milogram and 6 spinal taps later, I still didn't have a diagnosis. Well, I take that back. I was told that I had hysterical paralysis a couple times and it was because I didn't 'want' to walk. I didn't really have an obvious accident or fall or illness, so everyone thought I was just crazy. I went to another hospital a few days later and was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, which basically meant swelling around the spinal cord around T2-T7, and it had squashed the nerves. It's not a complete spinal cord injury, and I still have most of my feeling, except pain and temperature, but I have very little movement. I can stand, but have very bad balance, and I can take a few steps in parallel bars. It's been a little over 11 years since this started and I've gotten about 10% better, but still paralyzed. Still to this day, no body really knows what brought any of this on. I feel it was probably the trampoline accident, even though it wasn't immediate. I had a very painful pinch right between my shoulder blades, and I remember complaining about it later that day. I was 13 and complaining was my specialty. I have complete use of my arms, but my ab muscles are moosh.

I've never really sought out anyone to talk to about my paralysis until recently, so I'm not sure how polite to be or how to relate well. Maybe I'm closing in on my quarter-life crisis I was just hoping to read about other people's experiences and different things like physical therapy, what works best, and make some new friends.

Edited by The Black Sheep, 04 November 2009 - 09:45 PM.

[mcferguson]

The Black Sheep, on Nov 4 2009, 03:39 PM, said:

I'm new here, and I'm not really sure how to introduce myself. I don't have anyone around me that I can really relate to, and after reading a few posts I wanted to join.


Well, Hi everyone. I'm Ashley.
I've never really sought out anyone to talk to about my paralysis until recently, so I'm not sure how polite to be or how to relate well. Maybe I'm closing in on my quarter-life crisis I was just hoping to read about other people's experiences and different things like physical therapy, what works best, and make some new friends.

Welcome to Apparelyzed!

Michael

[Murray]

The Black Sheep, on Nov 4 2009, 02:39 PM, said:

I'm new here, and I'm not really sure how to introduce myself. I don't have anyone around me that I can really relate to, and after reading a few posts I wanted to join.

......

I've never really sought out anyone to talk to about my paralysis until recently, so I'm not sure how polite to be or how to relate well. Maybe I'm closing in on my quarter-life crisis I was just hoping to read about other people's experiences and different things like physical therapy, what works best, and make some new friends.

Hello Ashley (AKA Black Sheep - which I'll not ask about LOL)

Check this out http://scf.mhmrtc.or...=...=book&cn=39
I met this fella about a year ago - kick in the butt guy. You might enjoy the book. His paralysis was a little more sudden than yours; nonetheless, transverse myelitis did its thing.

Welcome and all that jazz.

[Tetracyclone]

Hey Black Sheep! Welcome. I live Upstate too. It is so easy for an accident like your trampoline fall to have delayed consequences. My story is on my profile.

Pwuff

[The Black Sheep]

Hey guys and girls. Thank you for the welcome.

I'm going to check on Amazon for that book Murray. I have had a lot of free time on my hands lately at work, but at least I catch up on some reading. Thank you for the book recommendation. Oh, and the name Black Sheep doesn't really come from anything bad. I met my husband through an online school and for a year we were just friends. We met, moved in together and like little nerds, we never left the house. His mom said we were little black sheep because we were so different than most couples. We're now married and have a computer store called Black Sheep Computers.

I met someone with Transverse Myelitis before when I went to physical therapy, and it was a similar delayed-reaction to a fall. I don't really know a lot about Transverse Myelitis, even though I've had it for 11 years.

[Murray]

The Black Sheep, on Nov 5 2009, 10:14 AM, said:

Hey guys and girls. Thank you for the welcome.

I'm going to check on Amazon for that book Murray. I have had a lot of free time on my hands lately at work, but at least I catch up on some reading. Thank you for the book recommendation. Oh, and the name Black Sheep doesn't really come from anything bad. I met my husband through an online school and for a year we were just friends. We met, moved in together and like little nerds, we never left the house. His mom said we were little black sheep because we were so different than most couples. We're now married and have a computer store called Black Sheep Computers.

I met someone with Transverse Myelitis before when I went to physical therapy, and it was a similar delayed-reaction to a fall. I don't really know a lot about Transverse Myelitis, even though I've had it for 11 years.

Purdy fascinating stuff actually especially considering the "traditional" ways of acquiring sci .... Don't ya' feel special?!

Have a good time with the book. You'll have to meet Ruckers one of these days. A real character.

Best wishes with the store, etc.

[The Black Sheep]

TM does seem a bit odd, and I think that because there was such a delay between any questionable fall, I was diagnosed with hysterical paralysis. The MRIs don't show anything. Not a blip. My last MRI was 2 years ago, before I was put on Baclofen again, and I had a slight herniation at T5, which is more noticable than when I was first paralyzed.

I gotta admit, I do feel a little special

[Airrika]

Mine was a gunshot wound to the left shoulder that supposedly ricoche'd (sp) in my back bouncing off my spine. Happened July 24th, 2009.

I remember the docs saying something about T3/T4, and i spent a month and a half in the spinal cord injury center at Froedert Medical College in Milwaukee, Wi. I also had to have a chest tube inserted under my left breast from internal bleeding as that where most of my nerve pain is today (pins and needle feeling...eek!)

I have BSS. I can't feel temperature/pain in my right leg but i can walk on it fine, but the left leg is weak. I find myself making a little bit of progress every week or 2 or so. In the beginning i couldn't feel or move either legs, but as time progessed of course with therapy and everything things are getting alot better. I can now walk on crutches but i still get around in my wheelchair outside of my apt because of the hypersensitivity in my left leg.

Thankfully i'm only taking Gabapentin for the nerve pain. I was on a whole slew of medicines when they sent me home, i had to find out which one worked the best for me on my own. I just knew taking all that medicine was dangerous and i never really did it either.

I get depressed often, have mood swings alot, and never really want to leave the house.. I've tried but refuse to take depression meds because i know this injury isn't going to last forever (i hope). If u want to know more i wrote a short story on Experience Project.com the link is in my signature.

Thanks for reading =-)

[chris135]

Well I like talking about my accident so i'll give all of you the rundown. Unfortunately i don't like typing a lot so it'll be in point form.

-May 20th 2009 (10 days before my 21st birthday)
-Finished my first job at 5 and took my motorcycle to my second job despite my girlfriends protests.
-Finished work and left with a couple friends at 9:05ish
-stopped side by side at a red light and i thought i'd be stupid and show off my bike
-Reached apx 120km/h and was forced to brake due to a bumpy road and a sharp turn
-Rear brakes locked up and i panicked not even squeazing the front brakes leaving me to hit the curb at apx 90-100km/h
-Bike and I went flying into a guard rail about 10-15feet from the road.
-My buddies arrived shortly after i had been laying on the ground completely conscious and aware
-I was injured at T7-T8, broke 3 ribs, my right scapula,punctured lung, and some hematoma or something
-My two friends called 911 and were put on hold, fortunately there was an off-duty police officer that seen the whole thing and also called 911 and was not put on hold(still baffles me how they can put you on hold)
-Ambulance took me to the hospital where i/they found out everything that was wrong
-Not really a surprise since i was conscious for everything and they kinda figured that our in the ambulance.
-I remembered feeling like i let my mom and my girlfriend down because they were always worried about me on the bike
-but 4 days in ICU before i could get in for surgery followed by 1 month in the hospital and 4 months in rehab(worst 4 months of my life thanks to the people working)
-Found a new apartment in october and have been doing great since.
-Thankfully only taking gabapentin for nerve pain/spasms
-I am a complete break and have no feeling other than my bum going numb if i sit too long w/out pressure lift or uncomfy surface
-Side question, i thought complete breaks didnt get spasms? No one can clear this up for me yet. oh well not really a biggy
-I appologize if i rambled on,i'm not too keen on writing larger posts and whatnot.
-Quite often i get frustrated with life and get down but on some level i feel that my life is better even though its been a short time. I think being the sole purpose of my condition has helped me greatly. I'm kind of a control freak and can't really deal with things that are beyond my control.
-Also having the amazing resources on this site has made the transition that much easier for me
-Once again i''m rambling so i'll leave it at that..

[-KatNip-]

I've been poking around these forums, and it's probably fair if I reveal a little about me.


March 1, 2001 marks the day of my injury with an incomplete spinal injury at T7, T8 & T9, ASIA D. MRI additionally revealed an end plate fracture at T11, but nothing too significant or symptomatic there. For nearly 10 years, one might not know of the injury unless they looked at my MRI's or saw my med list. I've dealt with pain and spasms, but until the last couple of months, was generally functioning well as an AB, taking part in skiing, etc. It's only been the last couple of months I've dealt with increased issues of numbness and weakness in the legs. Part of what got the doctors attention was after walking on a broken leg from a few months back and not being in what would be considered a normal amount of pain. Originally it was hospital for about a week, then rehab for 3. I did not post here for the longest time, more or less feeling "guilty" that I've worked through pain and symptoms and for several years, was basically functioning with the appearance of an AB. So many who are completes, higher ASIA scale, lucky to walk on sticks if it all, the compassionate part of me didn't want be like "bragging" since my injury was significantly lesser in comparison. Right now while waiting on further testing, i'm at this crossroads of wondering if I was just lucky to have been able to walk and function nearly normal after injury and get blessed with a few years of mobility? For now I'm just exercising as much as I can, mostly upper body and using a chair the doc prescribed about 50% of the time. A hobble to the bathroom or kitchen I'll, much further, advised not to and to keep stretching and exercise as I have been to try and stay mobile. I'm not entirely fond of the idea of any more surgeries. Enough is enough already!

So more details on how I was injured -
I was snowboarding. Had too much speed going off a jump and overshot the landing. The lower half of my body was completely numb initially, and I was unable to take any kind of breath. Luckily I was able to breathe again while ski patrol was on their way. A couple guys lower in the terrain park saw what happened and said they had never seen such a hard hit and estimated I was at least 20 feet in the air before coming down. In reflecting back I cannot believe how stupid I was since it has been years of pain and problems, but also I realize just how lucky I was, able to use a walker out the of the hospital, getting back to a functional level within a years time, with only mild residual.

This Monday marks the 9 year anniversary of my original accident. If the current numbness and weakness progresses (compressed cord or something is what I remember the docs saying before, though will try to relay the results from an upcoming MRI), if I ultimately end up in a chair permanently, I've been just trying to mentally accept it and remember these mobile years I've enjoyed, thinking of them as a bonus.

Some of you I've been reading on in the forums, wow, you've really been through a lot more and you're still strong, moving on, and I hope to be able to encourage others here, even if I'm having a down day.

Sorry this is so long and rambly. Hope you all are accepting of me in this community since i'm so minor compared to others here.

Edited by -KatNip-, 28 February 2010 - 03:21 PM.

[Tetracyclone]

Kat Nip- Look, you had a spinal cord injury. They are all different but we are all together here to do what we can for one another. many have problems years after the original injury. We are fragile, relative to others.

You have a difficult time on your hands so don't cut off your p*ssing and moaning too quick with "I'm so lucky". 10 minutes a day for self-pity is not a bad allottment. And, as you say, 10 good years is pretty fine!

Keep in touch.

Edited by Tetracyclone, 28 February 2010 - 03:43 PM.

[Broken Gal]

Nobody explained that CES would have an enormous effect on my life. I had a hint of how serious CES was when a consultant described my situation as 'the best it gets'. At that time I was walking with crutches and in constant pain.



I have never shared my story with anyone outside of family and really close friends; even then I rarely ever speak about it. My story begins with my child hood; I was tossed from a 3-story patio (for those of you wondering who tossed me over the patio...it was my mother) when I was young somewhere around the age of 5. I broke my back at the L4-L5 area as well as a few other bones. I healed from that and went on like any other normal child would with the exceptions of always complaining about a sore back.


I grew up, got married and had a son. During my son’s vacation from school, we went bowling and I hurt my back playing the game. I never thought anything of it and took some Tylenol and went on with my busy day. I noticed that over the next week or so that I was having an incredibly hard time walking, especially on my right side. I went to see my primary care doctor and was told that I had a SI joint dysfunction and that I should start using crutches immediately and that he would set me up to see a physiotherapist right away.

Well to make a very long story short, this went on for just a little over a year, being sent to one physiotherapist after another and each time the story was the same...there was nothing they could do for me. Most of them made me feel like it was all in my head, that I wanted to be in pain, walk on crutches and gain 40 pounds because I couldn't stay active. They blamed it on me being depressed, but I wasn't depressed I had just gotten married to a wonderful man 3 months prior to all of this and I had a wonderful son.

My primary care doctor decided that I should pay to go to the US and have my SI joint fused together because he felt that was what I needed. That was his problem that he had been suffering with for several years and had even gone to states himself to have his SI joint fussed. His decision making skills where clouded by his own personal experience that he couldn't see past it. He eventually sent me to a Orthopaedic surgeon to see if they would fuse the SI joint...not a chance, he felt that my problem was that I needed to go home and do sit ups...Yeah that didn't go over well!

After the bull shit with the first Orthopaedic Surgeon, I demanded to see a second one. FINALLY I got someone who was willing to listen to what was going on, someone who didn't think that it was all in my head, that I wasn't in need of sit ups (well I was but it wasn't going to fix my problem) a doctor that didn't think I wanted to shit and piss my pants just for the sake of wearing diapers again at my age, because we all know that is what turns on our spouses.

The new surgeon sent me to the x-ray department right away and discovered that I had massive herniated disk L4, L5, L6 and S1. He claims they where the largest he had ever seen. I was sent directly to the operating room. So with in 2 hours of meeting the Orthopaedic Surgeon I was on his operating table for a 12-hour operation.

The operation was a success for the first 7 weeks, the surgion only did a discectomy instead of doing a spinal fusion. He thought that would be enough to relive me of my syptoms. I went to the grocery store with my husband and ended up droping a box of pasta on the floor and when I bent over to pick it up I could feel the snap in my back, then it felt like hot water was being pored over my legs. Again I ignored this sensation took some tylenol and went home to bed. When I awoke in the morning I couldn't feel my legs and didn't even know that I had peed the bed. My husband took me right into the hospital and I went right up to the operating room with in the first hour of arriving at the ER. This time they did a spinal fusion at my L4, L5, L6 and S1 levels. I now have a very large rod, 8 pins, 12 screws and half of my right hip inserted into my spine. The surgery didn't help with any of the other problems that I am sure you are all familiar with, it only stoped any further damage from being done.

Breaking my back was not my biggest problem it was just the beginning. In the past 10 years I have had 12 operations all of them related to CES with the exception of the 2 operations I needed for cancer. ( ovarian cancer and then breast cancer).

I now have a colostomy bag, wich took 2 operations to get it correct. I have had to have my rectum removed as well. The CES caused me to have nurogenic bowl and bladder. I have had 3 operations to have a stimulator, allmost like a pace maker inserted into the spine wich is what tells my kidneys to function and the bladder to drain. Before the stimulator I had to catherize every time I went to the bathroom. The stimulator is wonderful I now only need to cath every other day just to drain any residual.
I also have to wear leg braces for foot drop. I did 3 years of rehab so that I could walk with out the aid of anything to hold me up....I spent a lot of time kissing the floor.

Well I think I have spilled enough of my guts, and feel quilty because it feels as if I am complaining and looking back it is difficult to really explain how CES has changed my life. I know that life is only what you make of it, and you can not control the hand you where delt.
I am making the best of it and consider myself to be fortunate and blessed that things arn't any worse.

Thanks for reading, if anyone reading this has had their rectums removed. I am wondering if you still have sensations there.

[Redish]

Hey guys. I'm a bit new to this forum and read a few of your injury stories. I thought I'd share mine.

In January 2001 I was working as a police officer and stopped an unlicensed motor vehicle in a routine traffic stop. While I was issuing the driver a traffic fine a pedestrian walked past, stopped behind me and pulled out a firearm. For some reason I glanced back and saw this person pointing the pistol at my head. I managed to dive for cover and forced him to shoot at my body rather than my head. The first bullet hit me in the spine. While I was lying on the ground he fired a second shot into my chest. Thanks to the person that I was giving the fine, the emergency services arrived within minutes and got me to hospital.

I spent eighteen days in ICU after which I was transfered to a rehab hospital where I spent two and a half months.

To say that this was a life changing experience is an understatement. I have subsequently put myself through university, completing my post graduate studies in finance. I play wheelchair basketball, although my skills on court are rather questionable.

This incident has certainly enabled me to meet a bunch of very interesting people and experience things that I would otherwise not have experienced.

[Soryfam]

Wow Redish, what a story. Not to be nosy, but did they catch the person who shot you and do you know why they did this?
That aside, I admire how you have continued on and made the best of it. Welcome to the board.

Sandy

[Redish]

Soryfam, on Mar 10 2010, 10:33 PM, said:

Wow Redish, what a story. Not to be nosy, but did they catch the person who shot you and do you know why they did this?
That aside, I admire how you have continued on and made the best of it. Welcome to the board.

Sandy

Thank you Sandy

Yes he was caught and sentenced. We think it was to rob me of my service pistol.

[Brad W Erlandson]

Wow, the stories are amazing, makes you feel like your not alone.

I'm coming up on my 8th year (I wont dignify this date with "anniversary") of being injured. I grew up in upstate NY, after graduating from college, I moved to southeast MI, obtained a Masters, established a family and just moved into a house I had built on 3 acres north of Detroit.

I have always been active, playing all kinds of sports, hockey was the my sport of choice, I played through high school. I raced motorcycles and did many crazy things growing up. As one person said, I should have been injured a long time ago.

However, on my way home from work 4-26-02, 6:30 in the evening I was struck head on by a drunk driver. She had 4 children in her car (all were OK) this was her 3rd offense, she was almost 3 times the limit. I sustained multiple vertebra and rib fractures, ruptured spleen, it had to be removed, a broken scapula, (still gives me a hard time) a closed head injury (I couldn't count money or formulate sentences for a month and a half), and the worst a T8 SCI.

Anyone who has been traumatically injured understands what it takes to get back to as close to "normal" as possible. It is a long hard, hard road. I have been very fortunate having a great family, friends and a genuine faith. I have been working toward recovery, I am in aggressive recovery programs. The results are slow, the process itself though helps me mentally and physically.

The negatives are pretty evident, loss of feeling and movement below the waist (all feeling if you know what I mean) All relationships change esp marital. Every day is a struggle, I have chronic pain in my legs and back. (I still haven't found a way to get rid of it) I am working on a degree in Mental Health Counseling and hope to get "back to work" soon. I have not "worked" since the crash. Life as I knew it is over (hard to admit that) but it is. Yet out of the rubble some things have changed for the better.

Looking on the bright side, I have always wanted to public speak, write books, and do marathons. My job and family concerns did not permit me to do any of this prior to the crash. Since the crash, I have participated in many marathons (with my handcycle) do public speaking (MADD, motivational, spiritual) and have written two books (both on amazon.com, Brad Erlandson, yes this is a commercial sales are down, joke) I have often heard people say God will help you accomplish your dreams. I could think of better ways to do this, but this is how it has turned out.

I have a quote in my first book, (I believe it is original, I have never heard it or read it) "Hard places help us determine who we are, and what we believe." This is my message, your hard place is causing you to determine things about yourself, your faith, your world. Grumble and complain as much as you need to, then pray, then move in the direction of your most dominate thoughts.

I have recently read a book by Viktor Frankel, "Man's Search For Meaning" In this book he says people need 3 things. Something to do, (a noble task, not necessarily a job), someone to love, and inner strength, if and when suffering comes. Viktor was in concentration camps during world war 2. He said when his friends lost hope (hope for the future, hope for what they would do or who they would love) they soon died.

Keep hope alive my friend. Better days will come, winter does not last forever (thank God). Thank you for initiating this exchange, Brad

[chickadee]

Broken Gal, on Feb 28 2010, 06:38 PM, said:

Nobody explained that CES would have an enormous effect on my life. I had a hint of how serious CES was when a consultant described my situation as 'the best it gets'. At that time I was walking with crutches and in constant pain.

Hi Gal, good to see another CES chickie in here. I'm thankful that I didn't have such drama with my doctors when I needed my surgery a year and a couple of months ago (they took one look at my MRI and started prepping the emergency room), but I know that I'm due for more surgery after the last MRI I had said not-so-good things. I speak to my physical medicine doctor in a week and a half, but the neurosurgeon wants to fuse up L1 to L5, and possibly do something else between L5 and S1. We'll see how things pan out.

CES is kind of a pain because it's a more rare injury, plus it comes with its own boatload of stupid needs and issues. I haven't had too many issues with my bowels after I stabilized my diet and routine, but I do cath at least 60-70% of the time to keep my bladder healthy. I use crutches and a wheelchair (depending on the situation), and I also wear leg braces to keep my legs and feet from curling up from spasms.

Also, because I'm curious, you mentioned that you had an injury at L6?

Anyway, good luck and hope things sort out. Just take it as it comes, one bit at a time.

[pistol_pete]

I won't bore you with my story.
But it does pose an interesting philosophical question.

If a tree falls in the forest....

and if a man is standing under it......

does it smash his spinal column and completely f*@k up his ability to ever walk again?

Hmmm......?

Uh.....YEEESSS!!!!!!

[spot]

pistol_pete, on Mar 15 2010, 06:49 PM, said:

I won't bore you with my story.
But it does pose an interesting philosophical question.

If a tree falls in the forest....

and if a man is standing under it......

does it smash his spinal column and completely f*@k up his ability to ever walk again?

Hmmm......?

Uh.....YEEESSS!!!!!!

Sounds to me as though you were lucky that is all it did. They don't call those falling branches "widow makers" for nothing, to say nothing of a falling tree. Last year, in the local paper, there was an article about a woman and her dog, both of whom were killed by a falling tree. The tree had been planted by the woman and her husband 50 years earlier. As a forest dweller, I have great respect for the destructive properties of trees.

[spot]

All I can say about my situation is that it is never good to be the first case of something that the doctors in the area have ever seen.

I had an angioma in my spinal cord at C1/C2. The symptoms built for 2 years, but all the doctors sent me for physical therapy to stretch my "tense muscles". They knew I had angiomas in my brain, but had never heard that there could be angiomas in the cord. It finally expanded and bled enough that I lost all feeling from the neck down. Then it became an emergency and the doctors finally did a neck MRI, then surgery. Too late to save much.

[pistol_pete]

Sounds to me as though you were lucky that is all it did. They don't call those falling branches "widow makers" for nothing, to say nothing of a falling tree. Last year, in the local paper, there was an article about a woman and her dog, both of whom were killed by a falling tree. The tree had been planted by the woman and her husband 50 years earlier. As a forest dweller, I have great respect for the destructive properties of trees.

True. It could have been a lot worse. Could have been a quad or dead.
Two months after I came home from hospital I had two trees on seperate occasions land on my house during storms.
I began to think they were after me, I dunno why, I love trees. I've even hugged a few in my time ( ok so I was drunk and it kept me vertical until the world stopped spinning)
I wondered if I should move to the Sahara.
But I didn't, and the tree loppers got richer and my house got sunnier.

Edited by pistol_pete, 16 March 2010 - 03:50 AM.

[spot]

pistol_pete, on Mar 15 2010, 08:47 PM, said:

Sounds to me as though you were lucky that is all it did. They don't call those falling branches "widow makers" for nothing, to say nothing of a falling tree. Last year, in the local paper, there was an article about a woman and her dog, both of whom were killed by a falling tree. The tree had been planted by the woman and her husband 50 years earlier. As a forest dweller, I have great respect for the destructive properties of trees.

True. It could have been a lot worse. Could have been a quad or dead.
Two months after I came home from hospital I had two trees on seperate occasions land on my house during storms.
I began to think they were after me, I dunno why, I love trees. I've even hugged a few in my time ( ok so I was drunk and it kept me vertical until the world stopped spinning)
I wondered if I should move to the Sahara.
But I didn't, and the tree loppers got richer and my house got sunnier.

You are right, the trees are out to get you. I wonder why. Do you harbor some inner animosity they can sense? Western Australia? You should be able to avoid the trees by moving inland or north. (I don't know much about WA, but aren't the forests in the southern region?) You shouldn't have to go all the way to the Sahara.

[pistol_pete]

spot, on Mar 17 2010, 12:09 PM, said:

pistol_pete, on Mar 15 2010, 08:47 PM, said:

Sounds to me as though you were lucky that is all it did. They don't call those falling branches "widow makers" for nothing, to say nothing of a falling tree. Last year, in the local paper, there was an article about a woman and her dog, both of whom were killed by a falling tree. The tree had been planted by the woman and her husband 50 years earlier. As a forest dweller, I have great respect for the destructive properties of trees.

True. It could have been a lot worse. Could have been a quad or dead.
Two months after I came home from hospital I had two trees on seperate occasions land on my house during storms.
I began to think they were after me, I dunno why, I love trees. I've even hugged a few in my time ( ok so I was drunk and it kept me vertical until the world stopped spinning)
I wondered if I should move to the Sahara.
But I didn't, and the tree loppers got richer and my house got sunnier.

You are right, the trees are out to get you. I wonder why. Do you harbor some inner animosity they can sense? Western Australia? You should be able to avoid the trees by moving inland or north. (I don't know much about WA, but aren't the forests in the southern region?) You shouldn't have to go all the way to the Sahara.

Well...., OK, I did do a diploma in fine furniture making. So I have milled up the odd tree carcass here and there and turned it into lovely homewares.
But I've also planted several thousand and saved quite a few from fiery death.
Oh God..... Do you think...... Oh shit.

So maybe they do have it in for me, but isn't making me a pot bellied cripple enough already.
Jeez, hold a grudge much you sap suckin' bastards?!!!!

Edited by pistol_pete, 18 March 2010 - 09:57 AM.

[spot]

pistol_pete, on Mar 18 2010, 02:37 AM, said:

spot, on Mar 17 2010, 12:09 PM, said:

pistol_pete, on Mar 15 2010, 08:47 PM, said:

Sounds to me as though you were lucky that is all it did. They don't call those falling branches "widow makers" for nothing, to say nothing of a falling tree. Last year, in the local paper, there was an article about a woman and her dog, both of whom were killed by a falling tree. The tree had been planted by the woman and her husband 50 years earlier. As a forest dweller, I have great respect for the destructive properties of trees.

True. It could have been a lot worse. Could have been a quad or dead.
Two months after I came home from hospital I had two trees on seperate occasions land on my house during storms.
I began to think they were after me, I dunno why, I love trees. I've even hugged a few in my time ( ok so I was drunk and it kept me vertical until the world stopped spinning)
I wondered if I should move to the Sahara.
But I didn't, and the tree loppers got richer and my house got sunnier.

You are right, the trees are out to get you. I wonder why. Do you harbor some inner animosity they can sense? Western Australia? You should be able to avoid the trees by moving inland or north. (I don't know much about WA, but aren't the forests in the southern region?) You shouldn't have to go all the way to the Sahara.

Well...., OK, I did do a diploma in fine furniture making. So I have milled up the odd tree carcass here and there and turned it into lovely homewares.
But I've also planted several thousand and saved quite a few from fiery death.
Oh God..... Do you think...... Oh shit.

So maybe they do have it in for me, but isn't making me a pot bellied cripple enough already.
Jeez, hold a grudge much you sap suckin' bastards?!!!!

Yes. I hope you know where every one of those "several thousand" trees were planted.