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I went hang gliding last summer and on 7-7-7, I crashed. After 21 years of hang gliding I bit the big one which caused a hemotoma in my lumbar and left me paralysized below my knees. I was a skydiver, hanggliding instructor, runner, etc. Now, I am nothing...well, something, but not what I use to be. Anyone out there suffer from similar circumstances?
This really sucks!!!
Pete
Your injury sounds like cauda equina syndrome (CES) or a conus medularis injury. Do you also have bowel, bladder and sexual dysfunction?
You can still hang glide and skydive, and do many other sports, but you may need to do them in adapted ways. There are so many options open to you. Did you get any formal rehabilitation? Did you get to work with a good therapeutic recreation specialist?
Do you have a career and an education? A family and friends who care about you? You are not "nothing"...who you are is not defined only by your physicality. It is important to work on not always comparing yourself now to what you used to be...this can lead to despair and depression. Find out what you still can do (and do well) and move forward with your life.
Please continue to post here. There are people who do understand.
Hi Pete, my brother had a copy cat accident. They rever to it as a freak of nature, act of God. Dust devil hit his one wing on the way to his landing and fell 55 metres. Also paralyzed from knees down, but he has bowel and bladder control. (But also have his undedected accidents from time to time.) He is a site engeneer for G5 Construction company. He gets along with his crutches and a quadbike on site.
If you want to I can give you his e-mail address?
ccoertze@g5.co.za
Kind regards
Jaco
Pete,
Your life is not over as the others have said. You just need to make some modifications to your life. The resource guide from www.paralysis.org shows lots of activities that paraplegics & others that you can participate. There may even something that you used to do that with some modifications you can still do, so think positive.
Can you walk? There are different potiential resources out there and maybe one that may help you. The walk aide maybe something that could help.
Don't give up!
Thanks for the quick responses! On one hand I feel very lucky, but on the other I feel really put out, especially now that summer is finally here. I'm finding my friends are out hang gliding, skydiving, biking, running, etc. and I'm spending a lot of my time on my ass.
I am going to look into getting a 3 wheel bike, and I will attempt to go hang gliding again. My skydiving days are now over, which I'm okay with that. I've been doing that since I was 16 yrs old.
Gotta go! Wife is barking out the commands.
C-ya!
Pete
I've been seeing a psychologist, and like the above poster said, I need to adapt to my situation. I could probably continue with my hang gliding and skydiving, but need to make the necessary adjustments, like land on wheels, rather than on my feet when I hangglide.
I never thought this would have happened to me, but it did...oh well.
The good news is that I don't have bowel or bladder problems, except when I eat a bean burrito. My wife complains. I don't have problems with pain, but I sure do enjoy a Lortab and a glass of chardoney on a Friday night!
I just need to get off my butt and adapt to my situtation.
Reading other posts, I really am lucky.
Is there any treatment that helps nerve growth? I am currently seeing a chiro, and another person treating me with Chin Shin Jitsu. I also plan on trying accupucture. Any thoughts out there?
Thanks!
Pete
Ask your doc about a drug called 4-AP. I've taken it to help stimulate nerve growth in the spinal cord. Ask a doctor what they think about that.
Actually, 4-AP does not stimulate nerve growth. It does make nerve transmission along partially damaged nerves more efficient, so some have experienced improved strength and sensation while taking it, but the effect does go away once you stop the drug. It is not without potential side effects of which you need to be aware, and you should not take it if you are subject to seizures.
Finally, I completed my son's seat to fit on my trike. After several trips to Home Depot, and a bunch of prototype designs, I was able to modify my Wal-Mart baby seat to fit on my trike. I wasn't able to find a seat made for a recombent trike, so I had to build an adaptor that would accomodate the seat.
I also had to purchase bike shoes with clips and pedals that would allow for the shoes to clip into. Otherwise, my feet flail due to my paralysis below my knees. All the forces I apply onto the pedals is from my thigh muscles. No calf muscles to engage, or ankle cordination is available.
Its a good alternative to my prior adventures, such as skydiving, hang gliding, etc.
Pete
Well, I finally did it! It’s been 377 days since I have flown a hang glider, and it’s been 377 days since I became paralyzed in my lower legs due to my accident on 777. I was more nervous than a whore in church. I was grumpy, no patience, and simply scared. I don’t know why I am still in love with hang gliding after I lawn darted in last year that resulted in breaking my left tibia, fracturing my pelvis in five places, breaking several ribs, puncturing my right lung, breaking my right clavicle and scapula, putting my pancreas in dire straits which left me with temporary diabetes, and finally breaking several vertebras in my back. I have more hardware in me than Home Depot has in their screws and fasteners department. What’s worse, I can barely walk, and I definitely can’t run.
I refuse to use the leg braces that cost my insurance company $1500.00, because they’re not fashionable and give me a bad tan line. I am determined to eventually run again. What did me in was a hematoma that developed next to my spine in my lower back. This severely damaged my peripheral nerves that radiate down both my legs. The doctors were debating whether or not to operate. It was risky due to the extreme danger of possibly further damaging my nerve, and spinal cord. The final decision was “lets wait and see,” which I am thankful for.
At launch, my buddy asked me how I was feeling and if I was on any Lortab. I said I was scared sh—less, and no, I haven’t had a Lortab since the night before. Then he told me that in the Pagen book, it discusses how you should analyze your fears and determine if they have any real merit. He quizzed me on several different scenarios that could occur on my launch that would all result in a crash. He then asked if any of those scenarios had any bearing towards my fears. I simply said “no, not one of those scenarios scare me.” Berg then asked “what is it that makes you so terrified?” My response, “it’s the fact that I am hooking into a hang glider at 1500 ft agl, and I can’t even hobble off launch!” We all laughed as I hooked into the secondary hang strap and struggled to stand up inside the control frame of my trainer glider Falcon 1-195.
I had flash backs of when I was in ICU, and the doctors circling around me saying, “your Humpty Dumpty, and we’re going to put you back together again.” I also looked around and realized that there was no way that Life Flight would be able to top land here where I was about to launch from if I was going to lawn dart in…again. What am I doing here? Why am I doing this again? I quit flying on 777 when I damn near died. I have a wife, a baby boy at home. I’m gamefully employed. The bills are paid, once again. I’m happy. But why? After spending two weeks in ICU, and 6 weeks in a nursing home, out of work for four months, confined to a wheel chair for 4 months plus. Why?
Berg, my buddy, Liz, my former hang gliding student, and I inched up towards launch. I gave my instructions on how they were to wire me off. I caught my breath, wiped the sweat off my face, and began to feel the winds blowing in my face, and the cycle was building. When we finally reached the precipice and I picked up my glider and my feet began to dance. Due to my paralysis, I have to shuffle my feet to maintain my balance. I simply can’t be at a stand still otherwise I’d fall over. It’s very similar to trying to stand on top of an inflatable ball and trying not to fall over. It’s very exhausting and very challenging. I fall down a lot.
When I picked up my glider it immediately started to fly. The lift webs went tight. It wanted to fly away, and so did I. That’s when I completely forgot about my injuries, and how crippled my legs were. I was in familiar territory and my feet were on autopilot, dancing and shuffling about. All my fears were absolutely gone. Not even a hint of fear creped into my mind. I was at home.
“Clear right!” “Clear nose!” Lean, step, step, gone! I just launched at a desert sight in the heat of the day and getting tossed like a rag doll in a washing machine. Still, I had no fear. I began to crank and bank, working the punchy lift. I got dumped out of one bullet thermal and I quickly pulled in and went around to ram that son of a bitch! Coring this thermal immediately took me over launch by about 600 feet. It was then I remembered I was wearing a knee hanger harness with no parachute! I had just packed my parachute this morning into my cocoon harness I just got back from Betty at High Energy.
My cocoon harness had to be cut up from the Life Flight crew last year in order to get my on their gurney. After packing up my parachute, this morning, I had hung from a tree at Berg’s place to see if everything was fitting properly. That’s when I discovered another issue I have with my legs. I can’t get my legs into the harness without help, and once I have my legs placed into my harness, I can’t get them out! My only alternative was to use the knee hanger harness that I use for training and just go for a sled ride. And really, I just wanted to launch and land. Nothing fancy.
I headed out to the LZ and was getting “drilled.” I remained focus and set up my approach. I was pulled in. Good airspeed, and I was smoking across the LZ. Waaay too fast for my poor legs to keep up with on landing. I rounded out and flared. Step, step, clunk! I dropped the base tube onto the wheels and came to a sliding stop leaving a small trough behind me.
With the support of my family, and with the small, incremental improvements that I have in my legs, I will continue for at least another 21 years, God willing.
Peace.
That was beautiful!! Do you write professionally? You should submit this to New Mobility or another similar magazine. I bet you would be published. Congrats on fighting off your demons and flying again!
Thanks! I feel like I just climbed Everest.
I use to hate writing, but now I'm beginning to enjoy it because I can vent without burdening others. All you need to do is hit <control> <alt> <delete> and I'm gone!
Thanks for the suggestion. I've e-mailed New Mobility regarding my situation. It'll be interesting what comes out of it.
Interesting web site too! www. newmobility.com Thanks!
Pete
Well, I've quit taking Cymbalta. Talk about withdraws! From bouts with nausia, dizziness, to feeling light headed, I want to get back on the stuff just to get rid of this sickly feeling. I was taking it daily, but for the past 2 weeks I was taking it everyother day to ween myself off it. But this past week, I just stopped taking it and I'm biting the bullet. My body is slowly adjusting to this, but man its very similar to feeling sea sick.
I've been popping it for the past year due to my wonderful experience in the nursing home where everyone is literally dying to get out, except for me. Here today, gone by 8 am the next morning, the Coroner made grooves in the hallway with his frequent trips to the home with his gurney.
Anyone have/had this problem?
Pete
After a month without Cymbalta, I'm finally back to normal, well, that's only relative. The withdraws were really miserable, but they started to taper down by the 3rd week. It was like have cronic sea sickness.
Once I got over the withdraws, I became angry, and short tempered. I used lortab to smooth out the rough edges. I don't think I need an anti-depressant anymore. I'm over it. Now its just a matter of moving on with my life.
To help in moving onto a new chapter in our lives, my wife picked out a new house that we're moving into next month. 6 different floors, which translates to 6 different flights of stairs. I guess wheel chair ramps are no longer in the picture.
Funny, she says she's going to up my life insurance policy...Hummm.
(To be continued...)
This was just an amazing read....looking forward to readin more. Let us know what happened with new mobility. B well
Stronger every day
Hi Pete,
Thought you might be interested to know that GM created a channel to help people find information about adaptive equipment for their vehicles. Check out the link to learn how others have used the program to make their lives easier, and find out how it works.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GMMobilityProgram
Best,
Michael
Ms FuschiaFan,
Have you ever heard of MEDRA performing fetal stem cell implant under Dr, William C. Rader? I saw his website with the video of some of his patients and their stories. Do you think they really help? I am so desperate for my son being a tetraphlegic and I want him to get better before I can no longer take care of him. Please respond and thank you!
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