On...

I like symbols that mean something. I wear a necklace that has two charms, one of each of my children's birth signs,  I also have their birth signs tattooed on my stomach.  My children mean the world to me, so it is nice for me to know that I will always have a symbol that reminds me of them.  I believe that if you're going to get a tattoo, it should actually mean something important - whether you share that meaning or not.   There have been other symbols since the accident that have come to mean something.  There was a Maryland State Trooper, Jackie Kline , that was struck by a car and was horribly injured.  She was in the room next to me at Shock Trauma and then again at Sinai.  I never met Jackie. I did, however, meet some of her family.  I remember her boyfriend's mother.  She gave me a little silver coin with a guardian angel on it.  I have that angel now and often put it in my pocket when I feel like I need a little extr...

Technically, legally and by standard definition, I have disabilities.  Wow, that's hard for me to come to terms with.  I don't feel “disabled.”  I have some challenges and stuff to deal with, but am I “disabled?” I don’t believe that I am.   The term "disabled" often has a negative connotation - for those with disabilities and those without.  I would bet that a lot of people with differing disabilities do not feel “disabled.” What I've come to realize is that I have to redefine my understanding of what a disability is.  The term is often used in a blanket fashion to describe any number of diverse individuals with differing abilities and challenges Some disabilities are not readily recognized and fewer are understood by others that don't experience the same challenges.   For me, I am hearing disabled and my hand doesn't work like it should.  The hearing will never get better, but the hand might.  What I've learned is that having ...

It's weird to think that almost 2 full months of my life are a hazy blur, but they are.  I am mostly glad that I don't remember, especially the bad stuff.  Some of it though, I wish I remembered more. I remember spending the morning of the accident cleaning up the old eQ office.  We were throwing stuff away and labeling things for removal or to move it to the new office.  I remember talking about who was going to ride with whom to lunch.  I remember deciding that Emily was going to ride with me.  I remember the conversation that Em and I had in the elevator on the way down to the car. I DO NOT remember anything else from that day.  I don't remember walking to the car. I don't remember that it was raining very hard (although I've been told that it was). I don't remember getting in the car, driving, the conversation on the way to lunch, or thankfully, the accident itself. Most of the first couple of weeks in Shock Trauma were pretty hazy.  I ...

Inspiring is an interesting word. It’s a word that people have used recently to describe me. It is not a word that I would use to describe myself. I was in a car accident on October 11, 2013. I was taken to Shock Trauma where I underwent a bunch of surgeries. I had a lot of complications – too numerous to list here, but let’s just say I had some brain stuff and some hand stuff. I still have some issues – still need hand therapy and the hearing in my left ear is almost gone. But, I have beaten the odds. I am functioning at almost full capacity. I am not dead or brain dead – both of which were a higher likelihood than what has happened. So, what has happened? Well, I spent four weeks in Shock Trauma, and another 10 days at Sinai Inpatient Rehab. I worked with physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and a huge array of doctors and other medical professionals. Each day I get better. Each day I am incredibly grateful for what I’ve been...

What does it mean to be broken? Are we talking about in body, mind, heart, or spirit? Well, I think that there are different levels of brokenness and even if we are broken, there are ways to compensate. For example, any adult will tell you they have had their heart broken. And a broken heart can, above many things, teach us how we want to relate to the world… What kind of people we want to be around… And how we want to act towards others. There are some people, though, that do not survive a broken heart. This brings to mind a husband that loses his beloved wife after 50 years together and then dies soon after. Fortunately, most of us can survive a broken heart and it is a rite of passage that children and teens must experience to understand adult relationships. I was broken in body. In October, I was in a horrible accident. Every bone in my face was broken, my hand needed total reconstruction. I will never regain the hearing in my left ear . Most of the things that I norm...