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 in
the slideshow above) 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. My
mom put
together a media
slide show from the
pictures she took I think
you will
find it
an amazing and saddening collection.
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 capible of doing,
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!
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