The five year anniversary of my accident is approaching. I still have raw emotions associated with this. I have shared my losses, challenges, and triumphs on this website and the caring bridge website. I have avoided writing this event down. The acknowledgment of my injury can help release conflicting feelings regurgitating in my soul. I… Continue reading

I attended my first football event in six years this past Saturday. This was an event because technically it was a scrimmage. This was a significant event because Calvin has never had a football team before. The campus is literally next-door to where I live. I hang out at calvins nature preserve getting in touch… Continue reading

The trial has begun! I started using Prialt as an alternative medication to Baclofen a couple of months ago.  Amy is my nurse through Pentec Health. She comes to my place at Hope Network every two weeks to provide intrathecal pump management.  My initial dose of Prialt was minimal but I could feel the effects… Continue reading

CPAN panel I put on my social work hat this past week. I was invited to participate on a panel to a town hall meeting addressing Michiga’s auto no fault law change. Cousin Terry was also on the panel. We received awesome news last month when the Michigan state Supreme Court upheld a civil suit… Continue reading

I was surfing the web recently when I came across a series of articles regarding happiness. I’d like to connect this to my search of finding happiness and purpose after surviving trauma. After my accident in 2018, it felt like my life was just ripped away and essentially over. I lost my marriage, house, independence,… Continue reading

In this blog post, I want to address weight issues that people with SCI have to be mindful of. Within a couple of months of my injury in 2018, I lost significant amount of weight. I recall looking in the bathroom mirror before a shower. I barely recognized myself. My skin was pale and I… Continue reading

Have you ever seen the movie paying it forward? On Saturday, July 1, I took a step in doing that. First let’s back up. Six months post injury, I met Marcus at Mary Free Bed. He also is a quadriplegic five years post injury. He visited me a few times at MFB and introduced me… Continue reading

Have you ever had something cherishable but then it mysteriously disappears? This happened to me three years ago. Back then, I was able to walk 200 feet with the platform walker. Then I couldn’t. It mysteriously disappeared. The tone in my body increased and never relented. My body went rigid. There was no dosage change… Continue reading

I created a little controversy recently at Hope Network.  My physical therapist evaluated me a few weeks ago in doing a stand and pivot transfer from my wheelchair to the table mat. She struggled positioning my stiff legs because of the high tone and spasticity. ”For now,” she told me, ”I’m going to recommend that… Continue reading

This journey of recovery has been an extremely humbling experience. A big step for me was accepting my situation for what it was. Neither good nor bad. Trying not to place labels or judgments to it. Am I successful in doing this? Maybe 65% of the time. That’s better than where I started. The severity… Continue reading