Wow, Glen...that is quite a testimony, and you are so correct , we must just
trust in God as we journey through this short trip of life in these physical
earth bodies....We have all got angry at times but being angry or bitter is
just a waste of time. It seems that some have it better than others but many
have worse situations, so we must all just try to face each day, one at a time
and do the best that we can. I believe one day we will understand this life we
had, better than we do now. May God bless you all my friends ! Dan H***
On Friday, July 8, 2016 1:17 PM, Eric Olson <[email protected]> wrote:
Nicely done. What level are you?
On 7/8/2016 12:29 PM, [email protected] wrote:
On Sunday, July 10, I will have reached a milestone. I have not known many
people with severe spinal cord injuries reaching this milestone. On July 10 it
will be 50 years post spinal cord injury. In the past, those on the world of
quadriplegics were not expected to reach this milestone. In fact, in 1968 after
2 ½ years post injury, my parents made the decision to bring me home from the
Elizabethtown Cripple Children’s Hospital. The head nurse took my father aside
and gave him some advice. Her advice, take him home, buy him a television and
wait for him to die. It sounds cruel, but the thinking in the 1960s was
quadriplegics do not survive a long life. There are several reasons I have
reached this milestone, the first is by the grace of God and second is the
Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War the MASH units were advanced resulting in
many soldiers returning home severely wounded with many spinal cord injuries
and our government pushed research on how to better their lives. Throughout
the years after 1966, many trials, tragedies, blessings and lessons were
learned. The 2 ½ years I spent in Elizabethtown Hospital helped prepare me for
these 50 years. Being exposed to all kinds of children with illnesses, injuries
and birth defects helped prepare me for a life much different than I would’ve
ever dreamed. Starting a small business in the early 1970s seem to reinforce
the fact that with God’s help I could do anything. I believe that physical
issues or injuries to a person when they are young gives them the stamina and
drive to succeed. I wanted to work in electronics, but was encouraged by OVR
(Office of vocational rehabilitation) not to go into this field. I always was
interested in electronics and enjoyed making things spark. I told my OVR
counselor, if you were not helping me to take a correspondence course, I would
pay for it myself. The Lord put the need on people’s hearts and I would take
money sent to me in get well cards and put that toward a correspondence course.
After I had completed three quarters of the course, the counselor realized I
was serious and OVR paid the last part of my education. The Lord always
put you in the right place at exactly the right time. In the 1970s and early
1980s our country had a gas crisis. One of the things jumping in popularity was
the citizens band radio. This was the start of my journey into the electronics
field. The Lord guided me to treat my customers with respect and honesty. I
definitely followed his lead. We migrated from consumer electronics into
business communications, then into the public service. In 1998, when we sold
the business, we had serviced fire equipment through our mail in division to 49
States. Throughout the years I learned many lessons, some hard and some
easy, but I learned that God was guiding my life. In the mid-1990s my wife had
a hip replacement surgery go bad and as she was my main caregiver, outside
people were hired taking pretty much everything we had saved. No bitterness,
this is God’s plan, suck it up and follow him. That has been pretty much what I
have done all my life. The last two years have been quite a roller coaster
ride. There were days that I did not believe I would make it through, other
days I felt like I could lick the world. Things are still happening physically,
but we keep our focus on Him and we take each day as it comes. I’ve been on
the quadlist, probably over 20 years and many times found information from
others helpful. I’m going to “ suck it up”, 51 is only 365 days away.
Glenn Henry
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