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| How I became a Quadriplegic |
| I became a Quadriplegic on Thursday December 15,
1994. I was a Salesman for a Wholesale company located in
Grand Junction, CO. I also delivered some of the products
that I sold. My day started out normal at 6:00am. I was
on my way to Telluride, CO (150 miles) with stops in
Delta, Montrose and Ridgeway. I made several stops and
was at the last stop in Delta. I had a large top heavy
crate for this customer. After unstraping it I waited for
someone to help unload it. About 7:30am I thought I would
slide it back to the edge of the trailer, as it got close
to the edge I stepped down onto the ground and the crate
started falling toward me I pushed back against it with
my shoulder and apparently my head as well. In a matter
of seconds, I felt something explode in my neck. A few
seconds later I was lying on the ground with the crate on
top of my right leg and arm. I couldn't move. 911 was
called, the Ambulance arrived and I was taken to the
local hospital. X-rays were taken, and they determined
that they were not capable of treating me there. I was
then put on Flight For Life and transported 40 miles to St. Marys Hospital in
Grand Junction, CO. It was determined that I had a C5
burst fracture. This caused damage to my spinal cord
at that level and left me a quadriplegic (tetraplegia).
"quad-ri-ple-gic: one affected with paralysis of
both arms and both legs. - Webster's Dictionary". I
then had surgery (C4 through C6 spinal instrumentation
and fusion) to stabilize my neck and was fitted with
a Halo, which I wore for
12 weeks. I was later diagnosed with a C4
sensory, C6 motor ASIA Impairment Scale B tetraplegia
(function level). After surgery I got Pneumonia
and was in ICU until December 24th. when I was taken to a
private room. Christmas wasn't as bad as it could have
been I was able to see friends and family (other than
parents and sisters) for the first time. On January
3, 1995 I was transferred to Craig Hospital
in Englewood, CO. about 250 miles from my home. My
mother and I were transferred in an airplane, and a good
friend drove my dad. Things got busy real fast with
therapy and everything. My right arm and shoulder were
very sore and both shoulders were stiff. Therapy was
started when I was in ICU but became longer and more
involved at Craig Hospital. I started OT, PT, Rec.
therapy, range of motion, equipment testing, daily care,
and many more little things that I did without thinking
about doing them before. I tried many different manual
chairs, power chairs, shower chairs and other equipment.
It can be very tiresome and very hard to make decisions
on what fits and feels best when you can't feel it.
Decisions also had to be made about transportation and
house modifications. I had some visitors from work, also
some friends and family visited. My dad, an owner
operator, dump truck driver stayed with me most of the
time I was at Craig Hospital (January, February and March
are very slow months). My mother stayed at home with my
younger sister Twilla, she was still in high school. They
and another sister came to visit on the weekends, and mom
stayed several weeks when dad went home. During this time
my parents learned to do my therapy, range of motion,
transfers, daily care, medical care and many other
things. The staff at Craig Hospital wanted to hire my
parents to train other parents and care givers. After a
lot of hard work and many decisions had been made the
Equipment was gathered and ready. The doctor and
therapists decided that we could handle the situation on
our own, and I was released from Craig Hospital. On March
24th 1995 I came home to live with my parents. I live
with my parents they did all of my care, therapy, and
everything else I need assistance with. I can feel
every thing just fine, down to about 8 inches below my
shoulders, but below that I can only feel light touch and
nothing else in some areas. I can move my arms and have
some wrist movement but no fingers except what is called
tenodesis, a wrist movement that moves my fingers
that allows me to pickup some light objects. I spend a
lot of my day staring at this computer. I use a regular
mouse and move it with one hand and press the buttons
with a finger or thumb from my other hand. I use a Typing
Aid, which I used to type this narrative. If I am only
typing a few words or using the mouse a lot, I just use
my finger. I use several other devices to help with other
daily activities. I also enjoy reading magazines and
books. I do have other Hobbies that include Sports and
Recreation (fishing, hunting and more) Motorsports,
Woodworking and 4x4 and Off Road. I have taken up a
interest in genealogy and have several ongoing projects
that I am working on. Thanks for reading my story. |
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