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Keep on Truckin’
...I began to search for the reason God kept me alive through all my injuries. I was given a personality to bounce back off of obstacles that arrive in life so I knew I was supposed to do something with this traumatic change to my life. Like the majority, I knew absolutely nothing about paralysis or spinal cord injuries. The only thing I knew at that time was “Superman couldn’t walk!” but I was in for a shock of reality. Never had I broke a bone or known someone who had gone through an injury like this, so I trusted that what the medical staff was telling me was “exact-o, fact-o.” As I look back now, I wonder WHY I had allowed myself to accept “their plans” for my life, and not what I had planned, or what I could have planned GIVEN JUST AN INKLING OF HOPE AND DIRECTION FROM THEM...Anyways, I’ll get to that in a little bit. Where was I? Oh, back to bouncing back after the injury…
So there I sat, with one very important decision to make: “Would I clam up, sit in the corner and hate every second of life?” or “Would I accept the situation, learn how to live a new so-called “normal” life, and Roll with It?” Fortunately, I chose the second option, and said "Ok, so if this is it, show me what I need to do to get back to my independence.” I officially accomplished that goal and three months after returning to my parents’ house, I was back to being a full-time college student, driving (with hand controls), working and getting ready to move into an apartment with a friend of mine that I had lost touch with after high school. Of course, none of that would have been possible without the complete support of my parents. I give them credit for where I am today and everywhere I’ve been…
From East to West...
For the first two years post injury, I visited high schools and spoke to students about the dangers of drinking and driving. It is such a huge problem these days, so I try to tell my story as much as possible to hopefully keep people off the road. If I impact just one person and convince them to not get behind the wheel after driving, then I have done my job. I also mentored to others with new injuries and helped them get back their independence, giving advice from my struggles and accomplishments with this chair. People called me an inspiration but there is one young lady (Kristin Beale) that I had the opportunity of meeting at the Children’s Hospital (Richmond, VA) that touched my life and inspired me to fight for what I should have been fighting for right after my injury…my recovery. Her parents learned of a facility in Carlsbad, CA, called Project Walk (PW), and planned to visit the center with Kristin when healthy enough to attend. In March of 2006, I decided to visit PW and see what benefits I could get from their particular type of therapy. The three weeks I spent in southern California changed my focus and life passion towards helping others get the necessary resources for their recovery. At the time I visited PW, I also received an approval from my application I submitted to participate in stem cell treatments in Portugal, by a Dr. Lima. I decided to turn the opportunity down because after only three weeks in the gym, I saw the slightest bit of improvement in my legs and wanted to see how far I could get with therapy before spending thousands of dollars on something that was still unsure to improve my condition. I had a home program made at PW which instructed a personal trainer on the Darzinski method and how to work with me, and when I returned to VA I began working with Shelia Grant and Vernon Dozier.
After my first trip to California, I knew that Richmond needed a center like Project Walk. At that time, I was working to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Business, which I had planned to use to open my own center in VA. Not that I didn’t enjoy visiting southern California for therapy, it was not “just up the road” so we needed something closer. (By “we” I mean myself, Kristin and everyone else with injuries in VA and surrounding states. In July of 2006, I returned to Project Walk with my trainers so they could get further education from the staff there. During this trip to CA I had the opportunity to check out another facility that is about 15 minutes from PW, called Awakenings Health Institute (AHI) in Solana Beach. While I was there two weeks, Awakenings offered me a job which allowed me to relocate to the west coast to gain the hands-on knowledge of how a center like PW and AHI are operated on a daily basis. So, I returned to Richmond to say my goodbyes and prepare for my 3000 mile move to the other side of the US and everything that I had known for the last 24 years. In November of 2006, I packed up my possessions and left everything behind to start my next chapter in this crazy book called “Life.”
During my time in Southern California, I worked part time as the Administrative Assistant while working to finish my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (with a Human Resource and Management focus) as a full time online student. Finally, in June 2007, I accomplished my goal and graduated top 1% of my class at Strayer University. An added bonus was my invitation to become a member of the Alpha Chi National Scholarship and Honor Society. After finishing my last quarter of classes, I traveled back to VA to have my hardware removed from my back. (Something I would recommend for those having pain from the hardware in their back.) It was causing me great pain when working out and once removed I had more movement and could flex my lower back muscles.
When I returned to the west coast, my work situation
changed and God pointed to in another direction. After working out one day and realizing my time in California was about over,
I received a MySpace message from a guy who was soon to be my next trainer, Nito Blochlinger. He informed me of a new facility
which opened in San Antonio, TX, so I asked “Are you hiring?” Turns out they needed an administrative assistant
so 24 hours later I was driving to Texas. After a week there, I knew that was where my path was leading. I returned to CA
to pack up my things and 4 days later I was headed to Texas for my next chapter in this book of life.
From November 2007 to November 2008, I worked and worked out at Pressing On continuing
my recovery and education on helping others receive their resources for their recovery. In April 2008, I was 1 of the first
6 Americans to travel to Lima, Peru to receive my first stem cell treatment. Yes stem cells are very controversial in society
these days, but what the average person is not familiar with the different types of stem cells available. When someone hears
"stem cells" they automatically think embryonic/fetal stem cells, but they do not know that there are several other
places to get stem cells in the body. The cells I received were taken from the umbilical cord after birth. During the 2 weeks
we were there, we received 3 injections of (100 million total) neuron stem cells and 5 growth factors to help the cells differentiate
and grow. It was an unforgettable trip to Peru and it was awesome to see another country besides the US.
Five weeks after returning to Pressing On after treatment, I made my first voluntary
movement with my legs. While on the edge of the therapy table with feet hanging off, Nito said, “Ok, kick your right
foot up!” and what-do-ya-know… My quad fired and my leg appeared to be straight, from what the mirror was displaying.
Well, maybe the mirror is broken so let’s try again. Nito repeated, “Kick your foot up.” And, Nope! The
mirror wasn’t lying. I had made my first, official, full voluntary movement with my legs in 4 years. I was able to kick
my foot up to fully extend my leg. I repeated the movement a few more times by myself, but it had to be tired from doing its
first exercises on its own in 4 years. Yeah!!!
Back East I Go...
I continued my time in Texas until October 2008 and then was led back east but I stayed south this time in Palm Harbor, FL (west of Tampa). The decision to move from Texas was a difficult one, although, I am sure I made the right choice. Knowing that my body and recovery would take a hard hit initially from the move and absence from the gym, I have moved to further my career & education in the world of stem cells and recovery. I’m working for Stem Cell Regen Med under Dr. Burton Feinerman, who coordinated my trip to Peru. My position will include several office duties, including speaking to patients about treatments & coordinating their trips. You could call me his “right-hand woman.” I have also recently been asked to become a peer mentor with the Spinal Cord Injury Resource Center in Tampa. I will be mentoring to new patients with injuries, setting goals with them while also giving them the resources to further their recovery & getting back to independence.