World Spine Day

On January 22nd, 2024, I fell in my backyard, resulting in paralysis, permanent injury to my spinal cord, and a condition called Central Spinal Cord Syndrome. You can read more about this harrowing tale here and here.

On World Spine Day, I’m reflecting on the accident and focusing on the positive strides I’ve made since then.

“World Spine Day aims to raise awareness about spinal health and spine disorders among all involved stakeholders, provide a forum for ongoing discussion about the burden of spinal disorders, and promote an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to easing the burden of spinal disorders. This is especially important because millions of people around the world often have little awareness of or access to conventional healthcare resources to help them take care of spinal pain and disability.”

It’s appropriate that today, I could do one of the most essential keyboard shortcuts for any Mac user, Command-Tab. I’ve not been able to easily use this oft-used shortcut regularly until today.

It’s wild to consider that less than a year ago, I was paralyzed from the neck down. For a moment, I thought, this is it. Then, when I was paralyzed a second time due to a hematoma, I really thought, this is it…Rebecca constantly reminds me how far I’ve come. It makes me think how far I can go.

But thanks to doctors, physical and occupational therapists, science, medicine, perseverance, and support, I’m walking and so much more. I’ve not mentioned this much, but at my last visit with my surgeon, he said, “You’ll never be back to normal.” Normal. What a word. While that usually would get me down, and it did a bit, it also motivated me to establish my normal and get to the best place I could be. My arms are still incredibly weak. My left hand doesn’t work great. It’s limiting, this disability, but it's not going to stop me.

Anyway, on World Spine Day, take care of yourself, don’t fall, and be excellent to each other.