Kids Say The Funniest Things

Every day I take our seven year old Labrador (Cruz) for a four to five kilometre walk along our local beach pathway. I am so fortunate to live a street back from one of the best beaches on the south coast. 

We meet so many dog owners, holiday makers and other locals that our normal hourly walk ends taking double. We are always stopping to have a chat and both Cruz and I have made many new friends. 

As the weather warms up, more people are out enjoying the beach, which makes our walks even longer as there's more people to chat to. I love meeting new people, hearing where they are from and what they do.

I often get asked why I'm in a wheelchair or what happened to me, which I've got no issue discussing as I am quite open about my injury. The questions I love the most are from kids. They are just so honest and kids have a wonderful curiosity that I find so amazing. 

 

Today I was walking Cruz (as usual) and we bumped into a young mother and her son who would have been maybe five or six. The mum started the chat with the normal questions like what's the dogs name?How old is he? Etc. 

Then the young boy stares at the chair with an inquisitive look and I know what he is about to ask, which is what makes my day. 

First he asks why do I need the chair and my usual response is, "One day I was naughty and I didn't listen to my mum, I hurt my neck so now I need the chair." The mother normally likes that answer. 

Next he looks at the controller and wants to press the buttons and move the joystick, which the mum quickly tells the boy that, "You can't touch that" and apologies to me. Where I reply with, "No problem". 

Then he looks at the chair again and I know the next question as it's my favourite. He says, "Can you jump out so I can have a go?" At that point the mum cannot believe what he said and starts apologising. I assure her that it's fine and tell the boy, "I would love to let him have a go, but unfortunately I need it to get around, as my legs no longer work." He was a little confused, but accepted it and said "Ok, that's a bit sad."

I guess the point of the story is that curiosity is natural and something we all experience. Allow your children to ask questions of people in wheelchairs or other disabilities. If they ask something that may seem inappropriate then just simply explain that I might not be the right question. Don't avoid wheelchair users out of fear of offending us. You never know, you might just make our day.

Andy :)

What is a Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal cord injuries do not discriminate, they can happen to anyone regardless of their age or gender. True, there are demographics that are more susceptible to sustain a SCI and statistically, the most common are males between the ages of 18-30 through a traumatic accident or injury.

I personally fall into that category as I sustained my injury at the age of 21, I’m a male and the cause was from a high speed water-ski accident. Over the years I have been required to go through spinal rehab four times and the vast majority of other patients were males of a similar age.

A spinal cord injury (SCI) refers to any injury to the spinal cord that is caused by trauma instead of disease. Depending on where the spinal cord and nerve roots are damaged, the symptoms can vary widely, from pain to paralysis to incontinence.

The level and severity of the injury determines the classification of the SCI. There are two categories for spinal cord injuries – Tetraplegia (or commonly known as quadriplegia) and Paraplegia.

 

Spinal cord injuries are described at various levels of "incomplete", which can vary from having little or no effect on the patient to a "complete" injury which means a total loss of function.

The ASIA motor score (AMS) is a type of classification of a spinal cord injury. It is based on neurological responses, touch and pinprick sensations. There are five classifications of SCI, from ASIA ‘A’, which is a ‘complete’ injury with no movement though to ASIA ‘E’ which is ‘incomplete’ with little loss of movement.

I myself, am classified a C4 Tetraplegic ASIA ‘C’ as my injury was a dislocation from C1 to C5 it made it difficult to categories the level of my injury.

Levels of Function in Spinal Cord Injury

 

Unfortunately, there is no cure for a spinal cord injury as the nerves with in the spinal cannot regenerate or be healed. There are hopes that stem cells may one day provide a cure, but at this stage SCI are permanent.

What's my Story?

Growing up I was just your average young bloke. I loved life, playing sport, my family and of course my mates.

Basically, I was a care free and easy going person who lived week to week with a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude. I’ve always enjoyed sports,  weather it’s a team or individual sport, with a bat, ball or a board.

On the morning my life changed forever I was competing in a water ski race on the Hawkesbury River, going around 165kph when everything came unstuck. I was flung through the air and hit the water, which at that speed was like hitting concrete.

My team mates found me floating face down in the water and managed to keep me alive with their own breath. In an amazing twist of fate a helicopter was already on its way to pick up a fellow competitor when they got a call of a more critical case – ME!

They were on the scene within ten minutes and I was rushed to Prince of Wales Hospital in an extremely critical state.

When all the doctors gave up hope of survival and gave me no chance to live, they called my friends and family in to say their last farewells, a priest was called and I was given my last rights. Clearly the universe had other ideas and after a couple of weeks of intensive care and six months of spinal rehabilitation I was finally discharged and returned home. That’s when the real challenges began.

Over the past twelve years I’ve had to learn to deal not only with my physical challenges but also my mental state. I’ve grown to love my life, learned to enjoy every moment and have managed to find and marry my one true love.

I’m now in a place where I feel I can truly help others, not only with physical disabilities, but people who find the mental game of life challenging.