Howard Falkinburg

Being paralyzed in in a wheelchair, I struggle with feelings of being less than whole. I felt very self-conscious in a wheelchair, being inferior and a lot of shame. My self-esteem was in shambles and lost my self identity. I was consumed about my shortcomings and was very self critical. There was more to achieve… Continue reading

Four years post injury and I’m starting to walk on my feet. Not literally but figuratively. I’ve been on two community outings with friends these past few weeks. First, what is a trip to Schuler’s bookstore to meet a couple of friends and former colleagues, Melody and LaVange for coffee. Melody stopped at Sojourners beforehand… Continue reading

I finished listening to the book “The Seven Decisions” by Andy Andrews. I don’t agree with all points made but there are some to live by. Decision number one is the responsible decision. The buck stops with me. I accept responsibility for my past. Challenges are gifts and opportunities to learn.  I still have difficulty… Continue reading

I have a friend who also is the quadriplegic and was sort of my mentor in the early stages of my injury. He used an analogy of being “Born again” at the time of an injury. Life with the CSI totally upends your life. You have to relearn every aspect of your life, including swallowing… Continue reading

My body and nutrition has evolved over the course of my injury. I dropped a significant amount of weight post injury due to a combination of factors. There is an increased metabolic demand related to severe trauma that lasts several months post injury. There are also infections, decreased intake of calories because of a delicious… Continue reading

I officially started my volunteer placement this week. It’s an ideal first step to working in the social work field again. I contact parents who have not sent back questionnaires regarding children’s development. It’s nice to be back in the saddle again and to do something different besides therapy during the week. It’s purposeful work… Continue reading

I reside at a neuro-rehabilitation residential facility through Hope Network. There are up to 16 residents, the majority having traumatic brain injuries. There are four who have spinal cord injuries, including myself. Hope Network has a handful of other AFC homes, including two others on campus. My weekdays start around 8 AM with a residential… Continue reading

It’s been a little while since my last update. Part of that is because life has actually been calm the past few months. The weather has been phenomenal here in Michigan so I’ve been getting outside before mother nature comes to her senses and hits with the cold weather. I have been missing various items… Continue reading

It’s not actually my new pet peeve but it’s one of my newer ones nonetheless. And this peeve is any place that is inaccessible or difficult to access with power wheelchairs. Medical facilities are the worst! You would think they would be the most sensitive to this. One example was my ophthalmology appointment on September… Continue reading

My experience as a dialectical behavioral therapist mostly helps coping with this traumatic injury and numerous setbacks. Two particular DBT skills that help are mindfulness and distress tolerance. Distress tolerance is trying to navigate through a crisis without making it worse.. You accept the facts of reality as they are without placing judgments on them.… Continue reading