November 2005
It
seems so long ago that I updated this site because so much has
happened,
not only for me personally but for the entire Gulf Coast. In July,
Hurricane Dennis hit Santa Rosa County with its fury and strength. Our
family home suffered more damage then with previous hurricanes, but at
least this time we were prepared. The funny thing is after you have
been through as many hurricanes as we have clean up becomes pretty
routine.
I wish I could say the same for the Mississippi and Louisiana coast
areas.
Although we were dealing with hurricane aftermath I was communicating with Linda with the BIA of Colorado to be involved as a volunteer with an outdoor program in Breckenridge Colorado. Every year the Brain Injury Association of Colorado co-ordinates adventure camps for people with brain injuries at the BOEC. I had found out about the BOEC from Brook, she is one of the counselors at the BOEC and also volunteers as an instructor at the DAV Winter Sports Clinic. The BOEC (Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center) offers outdoor adventure programs for those with disabilities. I was accepted as a “buddy” and in August I spent a week helping those whose TBI recoveries have not been as dramatic as mine. It was a taste of reality and helped me see how lucky I am. This is the area that I hope to work in when I graduate, I hope that I can offer encouragement to others who suffer disabilities since I understand, better than most, how hard it is after a traumatic injury. There are a lot of adaptive sports and recreation organizations, but it's not so easy to know about them. Some of them are posted on my opening page and I will be adding more soon. Many post injury people are looking for ways to rebuild their lives and although therapists are the routine way of rehab (because insurance pays for it), it's not the way to truly integrate with a social life. In my case finding the things I COULD do and be competitive was very important and has been a major asset in helping my recovery, both physically and emotionally.
I’m sure most of you have seen the damage that happened after hurricane Katrina but I had a chance to see it up close and personal. Katrina brought flooding and high winds to the entire Gulf Coast area, (a couple pictures of our area are below) but the worst was felt by Mississippi and Louisiana. My Uncle Dennis is with the National Guard in Virginia, they were activated and sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. On September 17th my Mom, Dad and I went to visit him while he was there and he took us on a tour of the area, it was devastating.
I just returned from New York where I completed the New York City Marathon, 26.2 miles through the 5 boroughs of New York. For pictures of my trip click here. Since I still don’t have the ability to run I competed on a hand-cranked wheelchair, also known as a hand cycle. I finished with a time of 2:48:33, which put me 63rd out of the 99 handcyclists who finished. I will compete again next year! The New York City Fire Fighters had offered their assistance to The Achilles Track Club and Kenny a fire fighter from Manhattan Engine 39 Ladder 16 Firehouse escorted my Mom and me through out the week-end. I don't think we could have had a better escort to show us the city, Kenny could write history books about New York! Besides being a NY historian he's one great human being. For some people, like myself, the use of adaptive equipment is the only way to be included in main stream sports. I guess that's the point, a disability can single you out and make you feel excluded, inclusion is what we really need. A few words that I think are worth sharing and I have put on the back of my personal cards, they read:
PHYSICAL : As I had told you I have been receiving Botox injections to help with the tone and spaticity. It seems to be working great! Well with one exception, I had wanted to relax my left hand more, my fingers and wrist tend to be very stiff and hyper extended, so my doctor injected the muscles in my forearm. Not a good idea, for a couple of months I lost the ability to open my fingers. The good news, Botox wears off! The important thing about trying this method is finding a doctor who is willing to do injections in small series or muscle groups to find out what really works. We now have mine down to a good plan of treatment about every 4 months, and as we thought my muscle memory is taking hold. As for how well it has worked? My walking is much smoother and my co-ordination and balance are improving greatly. You’ll notice in the slideshow above there is one picture of my walking on the beach (during Hurricane Rita). I was never able to flex my left ankle, so my stride used to have a toe point as you can see it’s GONE!
COGNITIVE : Observing others seems to be the best way for me to correct some of my cognitive problems. School has seemed to offer the best place for these skills to be learned. Constantly being around people of my age has a tendency to wear off on me. I also am now more accepting of being corrected, I used to get angry with my family for telling me to “do this”, “do that”, “don’t do this”, and “don’t do that”. But in the long run they know what is socially acceptable and my actions sometimes weren’t. The one thing we did have to work out was a way of them helping me without bringing more attention to my actions. This may seem crude but to give you an example: I have a tendency to spit, my throat muscles are weak and spitting is easier than choking on saliva, but this action is something my Mom hates and as I have found out most women find it disgusting. So the cue became women, every time I see women it’s a reminder not to spit. Little by little these reminders have made it where my actions are more socially acceptable, at least that’s what I’m being told.
MY DAY: School has been going great, I have really enjoyed this semester and learned allot. I’ve had classes in Community Health and Adaptive Recreation, both classes have not only been informative but they have helped me personally. In my Community Health class we have had a project of setting personal goals and how to obtain them. And in my Adaptive Recreation class I have been able to learn to think outside of the box by being exposed to many disabilities and not just concentrating on my own. I’ve become more of a homebody lately, besides school, spades, sports and cycling I now spend allot of my off time with my sports card collection and journaling. Between the journals my mom and I both keep, Mom is working on a book. Maybe someday the book will reach those who haven’t found my web site. Since getting more involved with sports I’m now taking better care of my health, I tried to quit smoking but have found it more difficult than I thought so my doctor prescribed “the patch”. I have set a date to start the program on November 15th, so I’ll let you know how that goes. I also hadn’t been able to gain much weight but since I’m hanging around the house more I’ve been eating better. Looks like between hand cycling and a good diet I might get that big, beautiful, buff, body back!
EMOTIONAL: I’ve decided that some of the important things to me are what I can offer to others, I will soon have my degree and I am becoming more comfortable in building my future. At least now I’m able to see that there is a future and not everything positive about me is in the past. Fire Fighter Kenny brought something interesting to my attention after he read my web site. It speaks volumes about how many changes I have gone through in the past 5½ years. He said he noticed how my looks and hairstyles changed in the pictures and after meeting me he said he would have never known there was anything wrong with me, if he hadn’t read the story. I guess that’s one of the problems with a brain injury, other people can’t SEE what’s wrong but those of us who have the brain injury know something is! As I look back I have tried many ways to find who I am and figure out where I fit in, in doing so I tried different hair cuts, clothing styles and social circles. Some things fit better than others and it’s all part of the learning process. I still have thoughts and at times wonder what my life would have been if this hadn’t happened. But I’ve also seen that the things that I am accomplishing are part of the bigger picture. This web site is all about me and at times I'm pretty self-centered, but I no longer wallow in self-pity. To all our troops and especially the guys of the 82nd and 307th: HOOAH!! ALL THE WAY AIRBORNE!
Although we were dealing with hurricane aftermath I was communicating with Linda with the BIA of Colorado to be involved as a volunteer with an outdoor program in Breckenridge Colorado. Every year the Brain Injury Association of Colorado co-ordinates adventure camps for people with brain injuries at the BOEC. I had found out about the BOEC from Brook, she is one of the counselors at the BOEC and also volunteers as an instructor at the DAV Winter Sports Clinic. The BOEC (Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center) offers outdoor adventure programs for those with disabilities. I was accepted as a “buddy” and in August I spent a week helping those whose TBI recoveries have not been as dramatic as mine. It was a taste of reality and helped me see how lucky I am. This is the area that I hope to work in when I graduate, I hope that I can offer encouragement to others who suffer disabilities since I understand, better than most, how hard it is after a traumatic injury. There are a lot of adaptive sports and recreation organizations, but it's not so easy to know about them. Some of them are posted on my opening page and I will be adding more soon. Many post injury people are looking for ways to rebuild their lives and although therapists are the routine way of rehab (because insurance pays for it), it's not the way to truly integrate with a social life. In my case finding the things I COULD do and be competitive was very important and has been a major asset in helping my recovery, both physically and emotionally.
I’m sure most of you have seen the damage that happened after hurricane Katrina but I had a chance to see it up close and personal. Katrina brought flooding and high winds to the entire Gulf Coast area, (a couple pictures of our area are below) but the worst was felt by Mississippi and Louisiana. My Uncle Dennis is with the National Guard in Virginia, they were activated and sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. On September 17th my Mom, Dad and I went to visit him while he was there and he took us on a tour of the area, it was devastating.
I just returned from New York where I completed the New York City Marathon, 26.2 miles through the 5 boroughs of New York. For pictures of my trip click here. Since I still don’t have the ability to run I competed on a hand-cranked wheelchair, also known as a hand cycle. I finished with a time of 2:48:33, which put me 63rd out of the 99 handcyclists who finished. I will compete again next year! The New York City Fire Fighters had offered their assistance to The Achilles Track Club and Kenny a fire fighter from Manhattan Engine 39 Ladder 16 Firehouse escorted my Mom and me through out the week-end. I don't think we could have had a better escort to show us the city, Kenny could write history books about New York! Besides being a NY historian he's one great human being. For some people, like myself, the use of adaptive equipment is the only way to be included in main stream sports. I guess that's the point, a disability can single you out and make you feel excluded, inclusion is what we really need. A few words that I think are worth sharing and I have put on the back of my personal cards, they read:
Ability is what your capable of
doing,
Motivation determines what you do,
Attitude determines how well you do it.
Motivation determines what you do,
Attitude determines how well you do it.
PHYSICAL : As I had told you I have been receiving Botox injections to help with the tone and spaticity. It seems to be working great! Well with one exception, I had wanted to relax my left hand more, my fingers and wrist tend to be very stiff and hyper extended, so my doctor injected the muscles in my forearm. Not a good idea, for a couple of months I lost the ability to open my fingers. The good news, Botox wears off! The important thing about trying this method is finding a doctor who is willing to do injections in small series or muscle groups to find out what really works. We now have mine down to a good plan of treatment about every 4 months, and as we thought my muscle memory is taking hold. As for how well it has worked? My walking is much smoother and my co-ordination and balance are improving greatly. You’ll notice in the slideshow above there is one picture of my walking on the beach (during Hurricane Rita). I was never able to flex my left ankle, so my stride used to have a toe point as you can see it’s GONE!
COGNITIVE : Observing others seems to be the best way for me to correct some of my cognitive problems. School has seemed to offer the best place for these skills to be learned. Constantly being around people of my age has a tendency to wear off on me. I also am now more accepting of being corrected, I used to get angry with my family for telling me to “do this”, “do that”, “don’t do this”, and “don’t do that”. But in the long run they know what is socially acceptable and my actions sometimes weren’t. The one thing we did have to work out was a way of them helping me without bringing more attention to my actions. This may seem crude but to give you an example: I have a tendency to spit, my throat muscles are weak and spitting is easier than choking on saliva, but this action is something my Mom hates and as I have found out most women find it disgusting. So the cue became women, every time I see women it’s a reminder not to spit. Little by little these reminders have made it where my actions are more socially acceptable, at least that’s what I’m being told.
MY DAY: School has been going great, I have really enjoyed this semester and learned allot. I’ve had classes in Community Health and Adaptive Recreation, both classes have not only been informative but they have helped me personally. In my Community Health class we have had a project of setting personal goals and how to obtain them. And in my Adaptive Recreation class I have been able to learn to think outside of the box by being exposed to many disabilities and not just concentrating on my own. I’ve become more of a homebody lately, besides school, spades, sports and cycling I now spend allot of my off time with my sports card collection and journaling. Between the journals my mom and I both keep, Mom is working on a book. Maybe someday the book will reach those who haven’t found my web site. Since getting more involved with sports I’m now taking better care of my health, I tried to quit smoking but have found it more difficult than I thought so my doctor prescribed “the patch”. I have set a date to start the program on November 15th, so I’ll let you know how that goes. I also hadn’t been able to gain much weight but since I’m hanging around the house more I’ve been eating better. Looks like between hand cycling and a good diet I might get that big, beautiful, buff, body back!
EMOTIONAL: I’ve decided that some of the important things to me are what I can offer to others, I will soon have my degree and I am becoming more comfortable in building my future. At least now I’m able to see that there is a future and not everything positive about me is in the past. Fire Fighter Kenny brought something interesting to my attention after he read my web site. It speaks volumes about how many changes I have gone through in the past 5½ years. He said he noticed how my looks and hairstyles changed in the pictures and after meeting me he said he would have never known there was anything wrong with me, if he hadn’t read the story. I guess that’s one of the problems with a brain injury, other people can’t SEE what’s wrong but those of us who have the brain injury know something is! As I look back I have tried many ways to find who I am and figure out where I fit in, in doing so I tried different hair cuts, clothing styles and social circles. Some things fit better than others and it’s all part of the learning process. I still have thoughts and at times wonder what my life would have been if this hadn’t happened. But I’ve also seen that the things that I am accomplishing are part of the bigger picture. This web site is all about me and at times I'm pretty self-centered, but I no longer wallow in self-pity. To all our troops and especially the guys of the 82nd and 307th: HOOAH!! ALL THE WAY AIRBORNE!
Pictures & Additional Info
Pictures
and information about events
and places mentioned in this update.
Links are bold and those marked with ( * ) open in a new window and bring you outside of this site.
Links are bold and those marked with ( * ) open in a new window and bring you outside of this site.
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B.O.E.C. ( * ) Outdoor adventures, white water rafting, skiing, rock climbing and more |
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Achilles
Track Club ( * ) Media Presentation 2005 NYC Marathon (3,746kb) This was my first full Marathon 26.2 Miles |
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