On 11 August, I will have been permanently seated or horizontal for 25 years. In 1987 I was 23, and 11 August was on a Tuesday. I took off work early that day to prepare for a party we were throwing at the house later that evening. At the time I was married and we had just a year earlier bought a home with a swimming pool. One of the girls my wife worked with was leaving/moving the following day to pursue a job offer in another town, so we had a get-together for her and her husband and invited everyone in the office to our house for a cook-out/pool party the night before they were to leave. By 9:00 PM, most of the couples were leaving or had already left because most of us had to be at work the next morning, but the couple we held the party for stuck around. Someone suggested one last game of volleyball in the pool so I climbed out to retrieve the ball, tossed it in, stepped to the edge and dove back in. SPLASH! SNAP!! BUZZZZZZZZ....
The following year on 11 August, my best friend damn near killed himself trying to drive his car through a hackberry tree. Since then, Steve and I attempt to get together on the night of the 11th (or the following Fri. or Sat. night), drink a few beers, reminisce about the old days and stay up too late watching the Perseid meteor shower. I look forward to it every year. But I still can't believe I have spent more than half my life in this wheelchair. After the accident and learning that I probably would never walk (among many other things) again, I never imagined living even five years in this condition much less 25 years. Had I known then that I would live this long, I would have chosen to end my life then and there were it an option. Looking at it from this end of the 25 years, I'm glad I didn't know just how long I would live. Ironically, 25 years later I find myself again thinking that surely I won't live another 10 or 15 or 20 years. Later this fall, I will be 49 and I don't look forward to or even want to think about being 59 or 64 or 69 in this condition. My health is still fairly good, relatively speaking, but the last eight years have been spotted with minor to not-so-minor health issues and I don't see that trend reversing or improving as I get older. We'll see. Good luck on your anniversary, Don. You look great to be your age and to have been injured so long ago. Greg - c/5 Tennessee * * From: Don Price <[email protected]> > *Date: *Sun, 5 Aug 2012 19:02:50 -0700 (PDT) > *To: *quadlist<[email protected]> > *ReplyTo: * Don Price <[email protected]> > *Subject: *[QUAD-L] Injury Anniversary > > > Next week will mark the 30th anniversary of my spinal cord injury. I've > never really 'celebrated' or recognized the date each year--in fact, I had > to ask my parents what day it happened. I'm just curious how some of you > commemorate your accident date, or if you prefer to forget it. > > I'm remembering mine because it's also my 30th high school reunion. > > Don. > C5-6 > Tempe, AZ >
