May 31^st 2015 a life altering event happened in an instant. While pulling a cut limb from a tree I fell off a six foot wall directly on my head and laid there paralyzed with no feeling other than what seemed to be electric current surging through my body .The diagnosis was a bruised spinal cord and the possibility of being a quadriplegic for life.

Yules Myers, the neuro surgeon added hardware in my neck and Harris Hospital down town did a great job coaching me for six weeks and allowing me to not die from bed soars (I didn’t have any) or heart palpitations ( I did have). By the way, all the nurses there were beautiful and they all smelled good (heightened senses for some reason).

During my Harris stay any humility I ever had was taken away. Every normal body function became an assisted process out of my control with no possibility of returning to normal. The future appeared bleak.

After the palpitations were under control, I moved to an inpatient rehab setting at Baylor in Dallas where medical problems continued and progress was slow. The Health Insurance rehab budget for in-patient care ran out after six weeks and I moved home with a loving (very pushy) wife and daily health care workers. Thank GOD I had purchased unlimited Long Term Care coverage over twenty years ago. We started out patient rehab at Harris with steady gains but continued to be hampered by a hip problem. Pain from the hip was terrible, my movement was restricted but I finally was able to cath myself (tone in hands hampered movement)   and I had become dependent on the magic bullet for timing bowel issues. We ran out of magic bullets and you would have thought the world was coming to an end.

We finally ran out of health insurance funded benefits and moved on to Neurological Recovery Center on a private pay basis. At this point I had a baclofin pump implanted which magically, immediately took away the hip pain.

 From that point the super heroes, Sara Light and Dan Finley stepped in to help me make HUGE gains in the rehab process. Sara took me from a shaky transfer with  sliding board to walking with me in a 1K race (six tenths of a mile) using a walker and this week walking eight hundred feet in a controlled, balanced manner using a cane. Sara was GOD sent but don’t tell her.

Dan provides the best naps in town. As an acupuncturist he inserts minute needles you can’t feel and delivers a tea which provides the path to bladder and bowel freedom. I don’t understand it but this process combined with his low key, understated demeanor has given me back the dignity of not having other people involved in my toileting processes. I can go hunting with my son.

God bless you Sara and Dan, you make a huge difference in my life.