1 year post injury.

[T5CompleteLiz]

Hi I’m Elizabeth. Everyone calls me Liz. I’m a T5 complete paraplegic. An my one year anniversary of my accident is coming up. I joined the forum for advice and friends. Any advice or friends would be great.

[Rook98006]

Welcome to the club nobody wants to belong to.

[Patrick Madsen]

Welcome Liz. Stay strong, the first anniversary is the worst. It does get better.
Best advice I was given my first year was to get strong, stay in shape, get educated. If there's ever a cure, we need to be in shape to be accepted for the program and if there isn't we need to be strong to drag our sorry asses thru life lol.

I love the name Liz as it's my wifes name too.

[T5CompleteLiz]

Thank y’all for the kind words. I’m a little shy. Hoping this would break me out of my shell. Seems like everyday is one big struggle.

[ejl10]

I had my 2-year about a week ago. I'd say it was harder this year than in other years just because of the crisis going on, which inevitably amplifies your one year challenge more than it should. I've had a rough go due to some lagging issues, but even with that I can say that it gets better. Hang in there!

[Oddity]

Hello. Welcome aboard. Sorry you had to find us. FWIW, I haven't remembered an anniversary since about my 3rd one, over 10 years ago, until my Mom calls to remind me. It'll eventually be easier, or even a non-issue, when that day rolls by. Although she never seems to forget, so maybe it sticks with some people more than others. Either way, life will be what you choose to make of it, obstacles and all. Choose wisely!

[SCI-Nurse]

Welcome to CareCure! Please join in discussions here, post questions, and tell us a little more about you. You have friends here who will understand.

(KLD)

[Jim]

Hi Liz, welcome to CC, glad you found us.

[endo_aftermath]

Welcome! We threw a party at one year and 5 years and plan to have one at 10 years, coming up in a few months. It's a good excuse to make the best of it.
If you are in or near a larger city, and haven't done this already, check with the hospitals to see if any have spinal cord injury support groups. Chattanooga, Jackson, and Nashville (Vanderbilt) hospitals have them. They may know of other SCI oriented organizations as well.

[SCI-Nurse]

Good point. Here is the contact page for the Tennessee chapter of United Spinal Association. They often offer peer counseling.

https://unitedspinal.org/chapter/ten...l-association/

(KLD)

[Them Bones]

Somebody told me that you reach maturity with your injury at 7 years. It definitely takes a few years until things become second nature. During the first couple years you'll discover new things daily.
This especially includes learning what you can and can't eat. Unfortunately, you just have to learn from experience. But you will eventually get back in touch with your body and be able to hear what it is telling you.
Your body is still changing and adapting.

Plan and build your world for bad days. Build your ramp slope shallower than you think you need. You have to push up that thing even when your shoulders hurt, or when you have a heavy backpack on.

Have a stash of spare supplies and meds and make sure to keep it stocked up.

If you haven't yet, and if you can, get a car with hand controls. It feels great to have that freedom.

Experiment with accessible activities whenever you get the opportunity. Try basketball. It's not about the sport, it's about spending time with and learning from other people in wheelchairs. They'll challenge you like an equal and show you that you can expect more from yourself. Your friends and family probably still want to do everything for you, right?

You are still alive and you need to continue to live. Don't leave your life and ambitions on hold for too long. It may seem impossible to even think in those terms, but you still deserve to live a life you can be proud of.

Do you get snow where you live? It's a good idea to have a spare set of casters. The salty slush tends to cause the bearings to seize up.

You'll eventually learn to keep your eyes down when you roll. You're looking out for cracks, holes, rocks, sticks, anything that could make you fall out of your chair. Also anything that is on the floor will get on your wheels and will get on your hands.

Wear fingerless gloves when you're pushing. It helps you grip the wheels better and can prevent eventual nerve damage in your hands.

I'm coming up on 17 years.

[funklab]

Solid advice here. This should be given to all newbies.

I especially like the part about planning for your worst day. Took me a decade to figure that out. I’ve always lived in apartments and elevators are always a part of my life. But now even though I’m on the 4th floor I have a parking garage that is level with the entrance to my floor, so essentially no ramps in my life. And if the power is out or there’s a fire, I can get out by the parking garage instead of down the stairs.

And I vote for spare casters regardless of your climate. I was once coming up a long, sloped, but only a little parking lot at a convention center. When I got to my car my chair slumped to the side and I realized a caster had fallen off somewhere during the ascent. I retraced my “steps” and searched for forty five minutes but never found it. It could have fallen off anywhere along my 200 yard trek up the parking lot, but since I was going up hill there was barely any weight on the front so one caster did the job and I didn’t notice. I would have been screwed without a spare (which I had to jerry rig with a bolt from Home Depot)

[Bonnette]

Welcome to CareCure, Liz.

[Tetracyclone]

Hi liz. One helpful hint is learn to use the search function. There are many years of posts on every conceivable topic, so if no one answers question well enough, or if you just want to browse and feel part of this SCI community, you will learn a lot.

[triumph]

Welcome to CareCure, Liz!
I'm an oldster and grew up from a young age with paralysis, so it was not the trauma you experienced. It wasn't until my mid thirties that I was fortunate to get involved in recreational pursuits - basketball and later, road racing which I did for 12 years until age 54. The first time I approached a wheelchair basketball team coach he told me 'we don't allow women on this team'. Glad I persisted elsewhere. I'm not an athlete at all but found that recreation with other disabled persons was a chance to form life long friendships, in addition to regular exercise and fun.
No, I'm not suggesting you pursue anything like this as I don't know your interests, just saying it was helpful to me to have a small part of my life meeting with other disabled persons, in addition to work, friends, and family life.
Hope you can get involved in activities that you are passionate about.

[bigtop1]

Hi Liz,............I stumbled upon this site and, have found that it was one of the best things that could have happened to me. So much information. Great staff and, great people who contribute to it. Keep a good attitude. No one likes a grump. Life is a lot better that way. God bless.