There is an unlimited amount of power that you can have inside you. What you need to do is find a way to let it out. The power that I am talking about is Will Power. You have to be able to believe in yourself before all else.
It takes a whole lot to overcome and injury, especially a spin cord injury. I can't tell you the number of times I wished that my accident had never happened and I didn't have to deal with everything that goes along with my injury. The thing that kept me going, that I will never lose is will power.
It has allowed me to do some incredible things. Things that I did not realize that I could do until I had done it. There were a LOT of obstacles that I had to get over in order to be where I am today. The first, and biggest, was being able to move my legs.
I can still remember laying on the ground in tremendous pain and realizing that my legs were tingling and I was having a hard time moving them. At the time I was more focused on my shoulder because that is where the pain was most. After they pumped me full of morphine and I calmed down I had time to think about what was happening. I didn't realize the extent of my injuries at the time. True is, while I was being air lifted to the hospital what I was doing was looking around a the helicopter and comparing it to the one that I worked in. I got to the hospital and once settled and after the surgery on my clavicle it all started to set in. Even though I was high on pain meds I was still trying my best to listen to everything that everyone was saying around me. There were a lot of negative sounding things being said. After all of my surgeries I was laying there in the hospital bed and the doctor came in and asked if I could feel him touching my toes. I could feel it but when he asked me if I could move them, try as I might, there was nothing.
I was told about my injuries and that I was paralyzed from the waist down. I was told that I may never walk again. My reaction to that was laughter. I couldn't tell whether I was laughing out loud or not, all I know was in my head I was laughing. I wasn't going to listen to the doctors no matter how positive they were that my injuries would prevent me. I knew in my heart that I would be back up at back in action. It took just over a week but I was able to wiggle the toes on my left foot. The doctors were shocked and excited for me.
The reason I was able to wiggle my toes was because I told myself that I wasn't going to let anything stop me. I used the power that I had inside me to force my body to work. Will power wouldn't let me give up and just accept what the doctors were telling me. Any time that I could I would try to wiggle my toes. I didn't do it only when people asked me to, but whenever I thought about it. I wasn't going for the satisfaction of hearing others reactions. No! I was doing it because in my mind I wouldn't ever settle for less than all I have.
I used will power throughout my recovery and still use it today. Would I like to just sit around and relax, not work myself so hard? Hell yes I would! But in my mind I know that I can be better than I am right now. The will power I have inside of me is what gets me out of bed everyday and pushes me to work harder and do more. To never settle for less than I want.
The people at the VA in La Jolla, California are incredible. Not just the nurses and therapists, they are amazing as well but that is for a different post, but the patients that are there 3-5 times a week. The ones that push themselves to work hard and do their absolute best. They have harnessed their will power and have put it towards doing anything and everything they are capable of. At my therapy today I took a break from my own workout and looked around at all the other SCI (spinal cord injury) patients that were there to workout and push themselves. It was inspiring to see that they were not just settling, and were pushing to improve. I may have days where I don't want to get out of bed or do anything at all, I know they are the same way. Its the will power that we have in ourselves that push us to do better.
Don't ever settle for less than you can be. Don't ever settle because you are tired, or its too much work. Use your inner power and push yourself to be better tomorrow then you are today. That is the only way to go on. There are those that settle, don't be one of them. I know that I never will and that is what has helped me get to where I am. That is what is going to help me get to where I want to be.
It takes a whole lot to overcome and injury, especially a spin cord injury. I can't tell you the number of times I wished that my accident had never happened and I didn't have to deal with everything that goes along with my injury. The thing that kept me going, that I will never lose is will power.
It has allowed me to do some incredible things. Things that I did not realize that I could do until I had done it. There were a LOT of obstacles that I had to get over in order to be where I am today. The first, and biggest, was being able to move my legs.
I can still remember laying on the ground in tremendous pain and realizing that my legs were tingling and I was having a hard time moving them. At the time I was more focused on my shoulder because that is where the pain was most. After they pumped me full of morphine and I calmed down I had time to think about what was happening. I didn't realize the extent of my injuries at the time. True is, while I was being air lifted to the hospital what I was doing was looking around a the helicopter and comparing it to the one that I worked in. I got to the hospital and once settled and after the surgery on my clavicle it all started to set in. Even though I was high on pain meds I was still trying my best to listen to everything that everyone was saying around me. There were a lot of negative sounding things being said. After all of my surgeries I was laying there in the hospital bed and the doctor came in and asked if I could feel him touching my toes. I could feel it but when he asked me if I could move them, try as I might, there was nothing.
I was told about my injuries and that I was paralyzed from the waist down. I was told that I may never walk again. My reaction to that was laughter. I couldn't tell whether I was laughing out loud or not, all I know was in my head I was laughing. I wasn't going to listen to the doctors no matter how positive they were that my injuries would prevent me. I knew in my heart that I would be back up at back in action. It took just over a week but I was able to wiggle the toes on my left foot. The doctors were shocked and excited for me.
The reason I was able to wiggle my toes was because I told myself that I wasn't going to let anything stop me. I used the power that I had inside me to force my body to work. Will power wouldn't let me give up and just accept what the doctors were telling me. Any time that I could I would try to wiggle my toes. I didn't do it only when people asked me to, but whenever I thought about it. I wasn't going for the satisfaction of hearing others reactions. No! I was doing it because in my mind I wouldn't ever settle for less than all I have.
I used will power throughout my recovery and still use it today. Would I like to just sit around and relax, not work myself so hard? Hell yes I would! But in my mind I know that I can be better than I am right now. The will power I have inside of me is what gets me out of bed everyday and pushes me to work harder and do more. To never settle for less than I want.
The people at the VA in La Jolla, California are incredible. Not just the nurses and therapists, they are amazing as well but that is for a different post, but the patients that are there 3-5 times a week. The ones that push themselves to work hard and do their absolute best. They have harnessed their will power and have put it towards doing anything and everything they are capable of. At my therapy today I took a break from my own workout and looked around at all the other SCI (spinal cord injury) patients that were there to workout and push themselves. It was inspiring to see that they were not just settling, and were pushing to improve. I may have days where I don't want to get out of bed or do anything at all, I know they are the same way. Its the will power that we have in ourselves that push us to do better.
Don't ever settle for less than you can be. Don't ever settle because you are tired, or its too much work. Use your inner power and push yourself to be better tomorrow then you are today. That is the only way to go on. There are those that settle, don't be one of them. I know that I never will and that is what has helped me get to where I am. That is what is going to help me get to where I want to be.
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