Life As a Quad V: Questions Answered

This blog post contains my personal answers to five of the most deep, thoughtful and intimate questions regarding being a quadriplegic. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave one in the comment section below. I always look forward to what feedback people have or what questions they may want answered.

1. What life events shaped into who you are today? 

There are many things throughout my lifetime so far that have formed who I am now, along with my opinions and ideas. The first major one is my parents’ divorce when I was nine years old and in third grade. I believe it forced me to grow up faster and rely on myself more. Also, I feel like it caused me to be more independent life. The second, and biggest, was when my accident happened at the age of 16. It changed my thinking, allowing me to live life differently. It’s also challenged my thoughts along with patience towards others’.

2. What advice has stuck with you over time?

The biggest advice I’ve gotten and has stuck with me to this day is never take life for granted, you never know what’s going to happen. Accept without verification what you have and appreciate the things around you. In my situation I don’t have a lot of independence and require the use of others for just about everything. In the past, I never realized that anything could happen at any time; to hold on to the special moments and people that come about.

3. What is the day of a quadriplegic like?

I’ve often been asked what a typical day is for being a quad. While every quad is different, I can confidently generalize that with being paralyzed and fully reliant on others, one spends a minimal of several hours a day dealing with spinal cord injury care. Although I can only attest of my own experience, I can say for myself over the past 18 ½ years that I’ve had to modify the prospects about how much I can get achieved in a single day.

Life as a quad is different than someone who is able bodied. When I’m not dealing with any sort of medical issue like urinary tract infection or respiratory infection, I still have to focus on other daily tasks and how I’m going to get everything done in one day. Then there are those days where I have too much time and can’t seem to fill it up with things to do fast enough. Also, since I’m not working at this point in life, I can easily get bored without enough things to do. On every given day there so many things we need to look out for-it’s incredible.

4. What is the toughest part about being a quad?

The toughest part as mentioned before, is lack of independence. Having someone around constantly, helping me with my every need is a difficult task to handle. I believe it’s complicated for others to imagine an injury that is more emotionally and physically devastating and draining than being a quad. Those who are quadriplegics, face difficult obstacles in all aspects of their life. This includes a lack of privacy within their personal, family and professional lives.

5. What are the top things you’ve learned over the past years?

Despite losing function and breathing from the neck down, I have learned that it is possible to recover after a spinal cord injury. This includes both mentally and physically, although it takes a lot of mental power, determination and will to do. It also depends on the severity of the injury, along with how aggressively recovery is pursued. I believe having a positive outlook on life and staying motivated along with hopeful is key. 

Life as a quad can always vary depending on spinal cord injury challenges. I like to think of myself as a positive, compassionate and understanding person. I have many people to thank for my success of where I am at today, including friends, family and caregivers. Despite surviving as many years as I have with a SCI and continuing to thrive, I have many more accomplishments I’d like to get done. I know that one can only do so much in a lifetime, but I remain hopeful that my footprint will leave a mark in the sand.

Jenni