My Injury
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Sex and
Disability
My
Life Pre Injury … My
Life today
My
Life Pre Injury
My
Accident… My
Rehab… My
Going Home…
My
Goals…
My
Life Today…
My
name is Mike and I was born in 1967 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We then moved to Hoffman Estates (North-West of Chicago)
Illinois when I was only two. When I was about four we moved To
Saint Louis Missouri were we all live today.
My
life has been very interesting. What can I say? I just see so
many people like myself give up on life and they have so much to
live for. Sure, life as a paralyzed person isn’t easy and no I
can’t do what I use too. But heck, I have fought my way back
and I enjoy everyday like it is my last. I have come close to
dying twice and I am here to say, Roll on, and enjoy life.
My
Life Pre Injury …
Before
my injury I was a very active in sports. I loved most all
sports. As a youngster a played soccer, basketball,
baseball and was on a swimming team.
As a child I gravitated towards soccer and my hero was of
course Pele. I was able to see Pele play once as he came to play
the St. Louis Stars. In high school I ended up getting
frustrated playing soccer.
I was the only freshman on the senior team. My teammates
in high school made it difficult on me, so after many years of
playing, and in my sophomore year, I decided to make a change. I
more then likely quit because of the many years of the high
expectations. I was exhausted and I wanted a change. The coach
wasn’t much help either.
I
switched sports. In high school I ended up on the swim,
wrestling and water polo teams. I went to state in swimming and
I was 2nd Team All American in water polo. My high
school finished a disappointing third place in state. I also
went to Iowa for the Junior Olympics where the St. Louis team
finished in 3rd.
By
most people I guess I would have been consider as a very
aggressive athlete. Not like in soccer I was not the best or
fastest at swimming or even water polo. But nobody could say I
didn’t try my hardest. I was a bulldog in and out of the pool.
This will serve me well in life’s upcoming challenges.
I
have played many different sports since I was about 5 year old.
I still remember those days of playing games and competing at
sports. Today, I am a satisfied and avid watcher.
I
was also big in working on my friends’ cars and mine. Mainly
working on the car’s motor and transmission peaked my
interest. Bodywork interested me but I never really excelled in
the area. Making a car fast and nimble was my goal. In three
years of driving, I owned 8 cars. From a 68 289 HP Mustang, a 72
VW Bug, 75 VW Sirocco, and a 75 BMW 2002, I owned quite a few
different cars. My mom was not very happy, as 4 of the 7 cars
that would be in the driveway were mine. Broken down and torn
apart. All were fixed and sold for a slight profit or were sent
to the auto graveyard. I even fixed friends cars and started a
company called Putz-in-a-Rut.
I was a pretty normal kid. As A kid I loved Legos and
aggravating my sister. I had everything to live for, and used to
think could life get much better than this? Then on a cold
winter's day on the 18th of December '86 I had just gotten off
my first semester of collage. It was late at night.
I decided to go out with my friends for a good time. The rest as
they say is “My history'“.
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My
Accident…
On
December 18th, 1986, I had a car accident less then
1-mile from my parent’s house.
A car accident with the most horrendous consequences. I
broke my neck, shattering two vertebrae (C4-5) very close to
where the spine joins the skull. In an instant I went from being
fully able bodied to being COMPLETELY paralyzed from the neck
down and fighting for my life. My life has permanently changed.
One
minute I was enjoying a winter’s drive home. The next
thing I recall is lying on my stomach
 on
the grass next to my car. My head was turned to the right
and I could see my arms and legs but couldn't feel or move
anywhere below my neck. I had great trouble breathing. It
felt like I was trapped under my car or something similar.
Surprisingly I felt very little pain but I knew straight away
that I had injured myself very badly.
I remember a number of people walking around me and talking to
me. But I couldn’t move. I remember asking for my mom’s
help. But I had no clue what had happened. I was totally
helpless.
Luckily
I was physically in great shape. I remember someone telling me
an ambulance had been called. I saw a man walking towards
me. He wanted to make me more comfortable. Before he
could move me someone told him not to and to wait for the
ambulance
I heard sirens in the distance and soon I passed out. During my
unconsciousness 2 paramedics were looking after me. The two
paramedics stabilized my neck in a collar. At 3am I awoke at St.
Mary’s Hospital ... and that’s all I remember. The
next thing I remember is seeing the hospital clock around 4am.
I some what remember being awoke at the hospital were I was soon
being treated by a Doctor. He told me that he thought my neck
was broken. I remember lots of people talking to me but
soon afterwards the numerous drugs I had been given had kicked
in making me very sleepy. After a lot of x-rays and scans
I was taken to the ICU. But today my ordeal is mostly a blur. I
do quite briefly thinking that now I had a big challenge to get
through. Truthfully, I had no idea what I was in for.
The
scans and x-rays revealed that I had badly broken 2 of my neck
vertebra bones. Their medical name is C4 and C5. The
C4 neck bone was broken and was lying at an angle downwards onto
the C5 bone. It wasn't known at this stage how bad the damage
was to my spinal cord due to the swelling. The doctors had no
real clue of my paralysis. I figured with determination my
disability would be cure in a few months of intense rehab. Hmm?
Instead, I would be facing one of the most severe physical
challenges of my life.
Soon afterwards, my neck would be stabilized using the
Gardner-Wells Tongs traction; this involved a tong device and
drilling 2 titanium screws through my skin and into my skull. Then
about 30-40 lbs of weight were hung by a series of pulleys off
the head end of my bed. This was to stretch my neck and
allow the broken bones room to start healing. I recall seeing
family and friends but was drifting in and out of sedation all
of the time. I remember being very angry, as I had thought
my parents had forgot me on Christmas. They returned to the
hospital late that night re-wrapping my presents. I was later
given a heart pacemaker because my heartbeats kept going so low
that I would loose my short-term memory.
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My
Rehab…
After
a four plus weeks at this hospital, it was decided that the best
place to treat me would be a spinal rehab facility. The St.
John’s Rehab Institute. My parent’s wanted the best rehab
support for me, and St. Mary’s rehab would not officially open
for a few months. After a week more I was jetted out to the
highly regarded Craig Rehabilitation Center in Denver Colorado.
I
was then removed from the traction halo and given a halo body
brace/vest. Again, four new titanium screws were used to hold me
head and neck still. As
I was lucky but I never needed to be on a ventilator. After the
swelling had gone down and the doctors could see they decided my
broken neck bones did not require metal plates. I was also told
that the extent of my spinal cord damage wouldn't be known for
at least 4-6 weeks after my injury, because of the swelling
and the fact that the 'cord' goes into 'spinal shock'. I was
told it was unlikely that I would walk again and I would
probably remain paralyzed from the neck down. Then I was
told that I would have to spend the next 6 months in rehab to
allow my neck to heal and to learn my new life skills. The
thought of that was horrendous. It seemed an eternity
before those weeks passed. They were helped along their way
by numerous visits from family and friends.
I now had to have 'everything' done for me, I'm not going to
detail everything here but let's just say personal dignity was
on the back shelf. At mealtimes a nurse would feed me.
Personal hygiene and eating are something else that we all take
the granted. All of your dignity goes out of the window when
someone else has to do those tasks for you. It's frustrating,
and somehow you never get the job done the way you would have
done it in the past.
During
my stay at Craig Hospital I started to regain some sensation and
movement back in my right arm. My thumbs killed if they
were touched and I could feel very faintly the sensation in my
arms. By now I had a regular routine of Physical and
Occupational Therapy. The time went by very slowly. The hours
soon turned into days, the days into weeks and finally some
eight weeks since my accident the Doctors were thinking of
allowing me to remove my halo.
I couldn't wait!
I
was told on one day that that I would have to wait another week
or two before my halo would be removed. Surprise! The next
morning they called me to the Dr’s office to remove my head
screws. I was scared. As I had heard from other patients how bad
the pain of taking out the head screws could be. I guess they
tricked me so that Io wouldn’t worry over the night. Boy was I
worried. Not using my neck for the past 5 plus months I thought
it might fall off.
Taking off my halo was a bit painful. Ok, really painful. At
about five months after my injury, the time came to remove my
halo and replace it with a supported collar. I was required to
lay flat on the bed while one of the house doctors was called to
come remove the halo screws from my head and skull. Since this
halo had been fitted months ago it had remained in place, with
the screws that went through to my skull bone periodically being
checked for tightness. This was done with a torque wrench that
was painful but just bearable.
The painful removal process was finally here. A Dr, nurse and my
mom gathered around my bed. I thought this was going hurt. After
4+ months the metal screws were partly connected to my skull.
The doctor slowly opened one bolt at a time. I felt like someone
was burning my head with a cattle prod. One bolt was bad enough,
but I would have been bad enough, but there are another three to
go.
At
the end of the procedure I was in agony. Somehow, it was all
worth it. My head felt free of the device that had encaged it
the past three months. The nurses fitted my neck with a
supported collar, this I would have to wear for the next three
months. My neck muscles were largely unaffected by my injury,
but they had become week due to their unemployment.
I was never
really comfortable at Craig. My mom had stayed with me and after
a month she was planning on going home. She by far was my
inspiration. She sat with me during my painful rehab and watched
as I stuck myself with a fork while I learned to feed myself. To
further my recovery she feed my crab legs and other fine dishes
to insure I never lost my appetite. The doctor’s were not
going to let me go home by airplane unless could sit up for 8
hours straight. I really did not want to be alone and I don’t
think mom wanted to leave me there. So I sat up ball day with no
problem and left Denver to return to St. Louis and the rehab
center at St. John’s.
Once
I was back in St. Louis I was much happier. I was 100% happy,
but I was somewhat home.
I
desperately wanted to hug my family especially my young brother
of 3, but couldn't. My emotions were really up and down during
this time.
It
was great to actually meet a lot of other patients too. I found
the general friendship and community spirit on the spinal
unit was what made it so good. It was that together with
encouragement from friends and family that got me through the
bad times and wanting to make the most of any recovery I was
going to experience. Although every patient had a different
story and a different injury we somehow all shared the life
changing experience of a spinal cord injury. We all knew what it
was like what not to be able to urinate on your own. We all knew
or were going to learn the complications of SCI and the
adjustments to normal life that were going to be necessary when
we all left hospital.
Gradually
the time I was able to spend in the wheelchair increased until I
was able to stay up in the chair all day. You may wonder why I
couldn't spend any longer than that in a wheelchair? There
are many reasons; perhaps the most important one is that, with
any spinal cord injury your feeling and skin sensation will be
affected.
Some
will feel nothing at all or may have very limited perception of
touch or pain. This can lead to the skin becoming damaged, and
if left untreated to the further complication of skin pressure
sores. These can be life-threatening if they get too bad. That's
why every quadriplegic or paraplegic will have to keep a very
watchful eye on their pressure points and their skin and do what
is called pressure relief every half-hour or so. This is to
prevent the skin cells breaking down and dying.
I
still had to be pushed from the spinal unit to the therapy areas
by a member of hospital staff. I found this very frustrating as
a lot of the well-recovered paraplegics used to fly past me in
their wheelchairs. I often wished I had broken my back and not
my neck so I had the full use of my upper body. At least then
I'll still be held to take part in sport and become entirely
independent. Nowadays with the recovery I've had, I've come to
terms with being a quadriplegic. While I won't be able to take
part in sports that I used to love, there are many things I can
do independently or with a little intervention from other
people.
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My
Going Home…
At
all spinal units and rehabilitation centers, preparing patients
for a new life in the home environment is very important. At the
spinal unit I was on as soon as the nursing staff thought you
were fit enough to journey home they would
arrange a home visit. For me this came some four months after my
injury. I was only used to the confines of the spinal unit and
the safety that that had afforded me. My journey home would be
in Father Raymond McHales' converted van. I knew the journey
would take about 30-45 minutes hours. While it was nice to be
seeing the outside world again this was proved to be one of the
most upsetting experiences since my injury.
The nature of my injury became very readily apparent. Once on
the highway I saw the rest of the world was going past its usual
frenetic pace. It was then I realized that my life would never
be the same again. The journey was also physically
uncomfortable. As we turned into our street I became very
emotional with tears running down my face, the last time I'd
been in this street was when I set off to have a good time with
my friends that day in December. I was completely overcome as we
pulled up outside my house. My mom, and family were all waiting
to see me and very excited to welcome me home.
Dad
helped me out of the van on the remote control wheelchair lift.
Because of my use of only one arm, I had his help rolling me out
of the van. It was awkward getting it into my house. Dad had to
lean me back and pull me up the front grass then up the 8-9
steps to the house. After a while, I was again enjoying the
confines of my house. It was lovely being out of the hospital
environment. We ate a nice dinner and then were soon on way back
to hospital. I felt very depressed the most of the journey back.
The nurses at the hospital tried to reassure me that this was
only normal, and that any subsequent visit will be a lot easier.
Breathing
is directly affected by muscles controlled through the spinal
cord so all quadriplegics will have some degree of breathing
compromise. They also include the proper and hygienic treatment
and management of bladder and bowels. Skin care and prevention
of injury and pressure sores is also very important. A lot of
people with spinal cord injury suffer varying degrees of spasm.
These can vary from mild shakes and tremors, to spasms strong
enough to throw someone from their bed or wheelchair. Medical
intervention and drugs can control these spasms. Sexual function
and fertility is also affected to varying degrees with a spinal
cord injury.
Because
the autonomic nervous system is affected by spinal cord injury
patients above the level of T7, they can also be affected by a
condition called autonomic dysreflexia. This in very basic terms
is when the body’s autonomic nervous system reacts to outside
stimulation that it can no longer control effectively i.e. an
overfull bladder/bowel or injury/pain etc. If left untreated it
can result in very high raise in blood pressure and ultimately a
stroke and death. I remember being a bit nervous of this
condition when I was educated about it by a doctor.
The
doctors treating me and the nursing team regularly met with my
family and me to discuss progress, treatment and a possible
release date from the hospital. At the spinal unit I was on
average a paraplegic would leave hospital after three to six
months. A quadriplegic would usually require a longer stay,
normally in the region of ten to eighteen months. I left after 5
plus months. Not by the orders of my doctor, but by mine.
Towards
the end of my stay in hospital I was coming home at weekends to
visit my family and friends. This was an excellent experience to
prepare me for my full return home. I left hospital able sit up
all day. The doctors had wanted me to stay longer but I was
ready to continue my life. Even if life wasn’t ready for me.
The
months after my release from hospital were very hard indeed. My
parents were so busy. Dad was busy building an elevator in the
house as mom took care of me. Not once did I hear them complain
about my situation or make me feel bad for what had happened.
Dad worked at his construction and mom did her thing. I know it
wasn’t easy for them. But if it wasn’t for their support and
strength, I never would be were I am today.
I
have always tried to make the best of a bad situation but I
found everything very frustrating. As time went by, I realized
that was only me that was going to make a difference to my
overall recovery.
Thanks
Mom, Dad, Katrin and Alex for getting me back on my feet.
After
the summer at home, I
decided to go back to collage and get on with my life. And what
a life I am having.
My
Goals…
After
my injury, as I was in bed during collage I made a few life long
goals for myself: 1) get my collage degree, 2) get a
good job, 3) move out on my own, 4) get married, 5) have kids
and 6) Drive again. A tall order for a one-armed crip, Huh?
Let’s
see how I did.
1)
DEGREE - Well, In 1993 I graduated from the Univ of Missouri –
Columbia (MIZZOU) with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. Of
the 300+ people who started out for an ME degree, less then 40
of us graduated. I also graduated on the Dean’s list.
Goal
1, Completed
2)
JOB - After 6 months out of school I got my first job at then
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company as a Network Engineer. After
6+ years I went to work at Unigraphics/EDS and then to
BioMerioux after 3 years each. Today I lead a group of quality
engineers and software testers for AG Edwards.
So, I went from engineering, to CAD/CAMM software, to
biological, to today financial. Stable? Close enough.
Goal
2, Completed
3)
HOME - In 1994 I moved out. I bought a two-bedroom two-bath
condo in the Central West End. What a life. This was a great
place to live and have fun. A
vibrant area filled with collage students from St. Louis
University, Washington University and people from all walks of
life. We actually lived across the street from Arch Bishop
house. In 1999, Pope John Paul stayed at the Arch Bishop’s
house when he visited St. Louis. We loved the area we live in
due to its close proximity to the Zoo, Art Museum, Forest Park,
downtown and the many restaurants and cultural activities found
in St. Louis. Go Cards!
Goal
3, Completed
4)
MARRIAGE – In 1999 I met my future wife. I met her online and
then traveled 11,000 miles to the Philippines to ask her to
marry me. In August 2000 we were married.
Goal
4, Completed
5)
KIDS – In March 2005, we were blessed with not one but two
children. Yes, Twins! Bernie and Christina were born to my
amazement. I say amazing because I just never ever thought I
would have kids. Thank you God for answering this wonderful
wish.
Goal
5, Completed
6)
DRIVING - In 2002 I studied the possibility to get driving again
in an adapted vehicle. In 2006, I am finally driving. I had my
van outfitted with Digi drive. It’s perfect for my one-armed
bandit status like me.
Goal
6, Completed
6/6
Not bad!
What
is next?
After
20 years I made it. Yea it took longer then most people would to
get these goals. But I am not everyone. I’m me. So as you can
see there are still many possibilities for a fulfilling life
after the devastating effects of paralysis and spinal cord
injury. Go ahead, give me a challenge.
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My
Life Today…
At
the time of writing this I am twenty years post injury. I cannot
walk. My left arm never recovered any useful practical
function. My right arm now has about 40 percent normal range of
movement. I can lift it to about shoulder height. My right hand,
very fortunately I was right-handed before my accident, has
recovered an effective wrist movement that I can do a lot with.
I still require help with most of my personal needs but have
managed to use what movement I have to complete a variety of
tasks independently.
Since
that fateful day life has changed beyond comprehension for me.
But I have worked very hard to change that negative into
positives. I got my degree in mechanical engineer. I have a good
job and some future security that came with it. I operate
three web sites (Cebu on Wheels, Philippine Hearing Fund and
this one). We have travel to Austria/Germany twice, the
Philippines twice, Vegas, Chicago, Milwaukee, a Caribbean cruise
and many other places. I own my house and I drive a car. I have
two kids who adore me and are happy to see when I get home from
work. And of course, my wife. She makes me complete through the
good and bad times. What else can I wish for? Today, I just will
wish for good health and a happy life for my family and I.
Today,
we live in a suburb of St. Louis called Olivette. In 2004 we
moved from the city of StL. The City of Olivette is a great
place to live and raise our children. Our main reason to move
was to have a yard and a larger home to grow into. The
Olivette/Ladue school system is ranked at the top. 
Before
my accident I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I don’t look
at my accident as a problem anymore. But it saved my life. I
have a great life. My accident opened doors I might not have
ever seen open. God gave me a challenge and I responded. He
helps those who help themselves you know. I did take on this
life change and God granted so much including children. How
great is that? My accident was a blessing. Sure my life is not
perfect. But I have a lot to be thankful for.
My
life today is very fulfilling. I have developed a lot of new
interests and hobbies. Where a lot of doors closed on the
day of my accident, as many, if not more have opened since then.
Life with a spinal cord injury can be immensely challenging, and
yes, I still have 'bad' days. With time and knowledge you
can rise above those challenges and start living the life you
never ever thought you'd see again. I have and am here to
prove it.
Never
Give Up and just Enjoy Life.
Thanks
Mom, Dad, Katrin, Alex, Joe, Connor, Kieran, Liam, Meagan, AND
of course my wife Lorena and the twins Bernie and Christina for
keeping me on my feet. You get my meaning ;-)
This
End-ith the lesson.
Keep
Rolling…
Mike
(aka - One-Armed Bandit)
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