35 Years of The Quad Life

We are never guaranteed any time beyond the present. However, assuming I'm still around this coming Thursday, February 20, it will mark 35 years since entering the quad life.

On February 20, 1985, my parents could not have guessed how a simple trip to Des Moines would change their lives as well as mine. As a three-year-old, I was only beginning to understand the world around me and didn't know what terms like vent-dependent or quadriplegic even meant. However, God knew the plans for the life He had given me and provided just the right person to help me breathe at just the right time.

Doctors said I shouldn't go home, and needed to live in a care facility in order to stay healthy. My parents knew differently though and took me back to our house after seven months in the hospital, along with 24/7 nursing care. In the 3.5 decades since then, I have been able to go all through mainstream school from preschool through college and now stay active in various roles.

1985

At the time of injury, my parents were told I had a life expectancy to around age ten. As statistics have changed, I have always already out-lived the new numbers. Currently, the average for my injury level and age say I have about 30 years post-injury. Once again, I am already beyond that, but understand where they come from.

In 2019, three other vent-dependent quads I knew well passed into eternity. Two were kids that were only ten years post-injury and the third was a man in northwest Iowa that was given 30 years. I know a few other men that are just a few years behind me in injury length and two that have been given more time.

2020

Through all these decades, I'm very thankful for the multitude of blessings God has given me. I have loving parents that do an extreme amount for me as well as an abundance of caregivers that have done everything for me. Then there have been places like camp that I was able to spend 22 summers almost forgetting I had any challenges. Further graces such as reliable wheelchairs, transportation, mouth stick use, diaphragm pacemaker, and more than I can list have also greatly helped along the way.

Many challenges have also happened that I sometimes wondered how I could get through. No matter what came, I could always depend on God's plan and everything would work work according to His purposes. It is very true that I look forward to the end of my time in this body, but only when God calls. Until then, I look forward to serving in whatever time remains and trying to help others in this life of SCI.