When I turned 18 I had no idea what challenges the year would hold for me. I knew for certain I would be graduating, moving in with my best friend and starting college. I, however, did not know that my life would be taking a drastic turn that would change how I lived life.
The car crash was just a few months after graduation. I was paralyzed immediately and I knew I would never walk again. I knew I wasn’t going to finish that paper that was due on Wednesday and I knew my life would not be what I had always dreamed.
The surprising thing, as I would later learn, was that my life would be better. I would be stronger. I would have everything I had ever wanted and more. I would still marry the most incredible man and I would still have beautiful babies (3 boys!).
This horrible tragedy that left me without feeling or the use of my legs was not the end of my world. It was in fact, the beginning of a new one. When the doctors told me I would never walk again, I was heart broken, but my biggest concern was having a family. I asked the doctors if I would still be about to get pregnant. They told me yes. That was all I needed to hear. If I could still live a life where I could be a mom, life would be okay. Life would be an adjustment, but I knew that everything would be okay. It was then and there that I decided that I was going to live and be happy. I was not going to be depressed and feel sorry for myself.
It was now a life where I would learn the true meaning of survival and it would be a life where I would be there to encourage women to fight when they were facing their own wars.
My paralysis is not something that I will ever get over. It is certainly not something that I love or enjoy. The chair will always be a constant reminder of what happened that day. My paralysis, however, does not own me.
I took what could have been a horrible tragedy, what WAS a horrible tragedy and decided that I would use my experience and my journey to encourage anyone that was willing to listen to my story.
Now matter what battle you are fighting, it will get better, you will help someone, somewhere, someday. You just have to decide, like I did, that you want to find a way.
My blogging journey is rather fuzzy. I started my first website in 1999 and later started sharing my story on message boards before moving to LiveJournal and finally discovering WordPress in 2008. It’s been a long journey and I’ve put myself out there for many years. I hope I’ve helped someone, somewhere win whatever they were fighting.
You can find Priscilla online at www.wheelchairmommy.com
Priscilla and I met at the BlogElevated conference in Texas last year. During the first keynote super stylish chic rolled up to me and asked if the spot next to me was taken…I’d been saving it just for her! The two of us were chatty-kathy’s the whole weekend. I’ve been enamored with her feisty personality and incredible ability to live life to the fullest.
Thank you for sharing your light with the world!!
xoxo
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