After reading @mountainjewel story in reply to #naturalmedicine contest question "How has natural medicine impacted your life" (You can still enter this contest at: @naturalmedicine/contest-win-sbd-by-sharing-your-natural-medicine-story ) I was deeply touched and moved to share my story of overcoming paralysis in hopes it may inspire others who find themselves in similar situations.

A Life Changing Accident

Have you ever had a dream about being paralyzed?

I use to have those dreams when I was a kid. I had dreams of flying and nightmares about being paralyzed.
Then one day I awoke from that nightmare and it was my reality!

I had been in a car accident and had a fractured, dislocated neck. I was rushed to emergency in a life or death situation.

Gone were my days of tree planting,climbing mountains, building my homestead in the forest. Now my life involved trying not to choke and trying to get some movement back into my limbs.

As the reality stated to settle in, so did depression, which in it's self can be so debilitating. Luckily it never really got a hold of me for I had remembered people I knew who had spinal cord injuries and were not paralyzed - having a spinal injury does not mean you will be paralyzed for life.

As the swelling started to subside I started to regain some movement in my arms and could once again feed myself. With this I was moved to the rehab area where I would remain for two months, my sister at my side the whole time.

I can not stress enough how important it is in a time of crisis to have a circle of support. All the cards and visits I got made a world of difference to me and allowed me to keep my spirits up.

Rehab

My sister, who was driving at the time of the accident (fortunately she was unscathed), had been going to a job interview but she let that go and remained with me through out my recovery. I am much indebted to her(although I have some opportunity to repay back some of that debt.) She studied herbalism, massage therapy and had begun studying Chinese Medicine and acupuncture.

She bought me comfrey tinctures to help repair the damaged tissue and gave me arnica cream for my bruised areas. but most importantly she worked along with me in my physiotherapy and kept me connected to the outside world.

Let me tell you, hospitals have to be one of the most unhealthy places to be, so every day my sister would wheel me outside to get away from it. That was one of my main motivations, was to get out of the hospital. My biggest motivation was my son, who was about ten years old at the time.

It's amazing what a mother will go through for her children. I believe if I didn't have a son, I would still be in a wheel chair and if I didn't have my circle of support I would be crippled with depression.

One thing they never told me in the hospital was that if you do not use your muscles within two weeks you start to loose them. I worked hard in rehab because of my son, but if I had known that I probably would have worked harder.

I remember the first method they tried to get me up was with a device that made you upright. It was so strange and my body responded with panic. Then they put me into a wheelchair with a high back to support my spine. That made me somewhat mobile, with others pushing me around. I did my physio and occupational therapy and gradually got some strength back so they changed me to the regular wheelchair. My sister equipped me with biker gloves and I could now wheel myself around.

Me and my sister had full access to the rehab gym with their special equipment. Funny, the thing that got me out of my chair was this huge ball that had handles on it. Something about it being a ball tweaked with my water polo side of me where I had done a lot of ball handling and reacting to balls. It all clicked together and I grabbed the handles and lifted myself out of the chair, standing on my own for the first time in weeks. After that there was no stopping me. I went from there to pulling myself up on the walking bars (see photo above.) I was determined that I was going to walk again, even though I was told I never would.

Now for someone who is use to living in the forest, very close to nature, how do you figure I coped with being in a concrete hospital building in the city? Not well. Fortunately there was a conservatory, filled with tropical plants and regularly changed displays of flower that was in walking (or wheeling) distance from the hospital. The other thing that took me out of my circumstances and transported me into another reality was music. I'm a strong believer in music therapy. It definitely gave me relief from my present circumstances.

Before my accident, I was an avid swimmer and felt very much at home in the water. I was the local swimming instructor, but after my injuries, I could no longer pass my Bronze Cross to keep up my certification as an instructor. When I finally came back to my home in the forest, I found a note on the door from the town wondering if it would be at all possible for me to continue teaching swimming. I had to let them know I couldn't.

I could no longer resume my former occupation, but with feeling so at home in the water that is where a lot of my therapy continued. I was able to get a pass to one of the hotel pools that had a hot tub and a deeper pool. First I'd relax my muscles in the hot tub, then I would go walking in the chest deep water of the other pool. In water there is no force of gravity pulling you down, so I could walk around and feel normal. I could hold onto that feeling of being "normal" for a few minutes after getting out of the tub. This was very important to me, for the development of muscle memory and my bodies behavioral patterns.

Since I was getting quite mobile, they finally released me from the hospital, in my wheelchair, but I could not return to my home in the forest. A good friend gave me a room in her house in the city. My sister had been staying there too, for she didn't live in the city either. It was at this point that I realized I could not be a burden on others any longer and I used my smarts and found different aids to give me my independence.

Winters in my home province of Saskatchewan are very cold and with my injuries I found it very hard to stay there so I spent the winters in Victoria, B.C. with my sisters. My older sister, whom I stayed with was a massage therapist and did massage on me. She also was connected with other therapists through the LETS bartering system where she bartered her services for different therapies for me. I had some Cranial Sacial (not sure of the spelling) work done on me that helped release a lot of stuff, I tried moxie bustion which was very stimulating to different area but very hard on my skin, leaving huge marks. I tried laying on of hands and energy healing which was great for opening up different chakras but I found the massage and water therapy the most beneficial.

Also, while I was at my sisters, she helped me to learn to ride a bike again. Yes, I had to learn to balance all over again. So much for that saying, "once you learn how to ride a bike you never forget it." Now that I could ride a bike I was free, I could go as fast as every one else. Again I felt normal. I rode my bike everywhere when I was in the city.

Finally I was strong enough to go back to my home. I was walking with 2 canes or my bike. I had sent the wheelchair back. Being home I found out who my real friends were. I also found out what it is to be in the position of the unwanted, the ones who are chosen last. Living this experience has taught me compassion for the underdogs and those in less fortunate circumstances.

Being "disabled" is a sate of mind. In your mind and in others. I found that even though I was classified as disabled, I was more able at some things than other so called "able bodied" people. I found it was easy to slip into a rut and even get attached to my pain for what ever reason. With that realization, then I could finally start letting go and get on with my life. I had to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

I had missed the comradery of tree planting camps and when a contract came out for growing coniferous seedlings for reforestation, I again got out my smarts and did some number crunching, partnered up with an owner of a tree planting company who dealt with people in forestry and I won myself a contract. It was like miniature tree planting and we were able to hire local people from the community. I was happy but it didn't last.

Being that I owned this business (along with now 2 partners) I found I worked too hard and re-injured myself, ending up in hospital again. When the 5 year contract from the government was up I sold my share to my partners . I had to find something else to do.

My dad, who was a big believer in education, said he would pay for any education for his kids and grand kids . I always loved teaching and working with kids so I looked into getting my education degree with long-distance learning ( I didn't want to go back to the city.) Upon inquiring about this a the community college, a kind person related to me that if I became a teacher, with all the hours I would put in, I'd end up working for around $2 per hour. Realize, at this point I was nearly fifty years old and really didn't want to work long hours, so I took my Educational Associates training upon her recommendation.

A position came up in my community for an EA. I applied and got the position. That meant so much to me to feel wanted and I was back on top of things again.

Being in the classroom I realized I didn't need my cane. I also saw what having a cane meant to kids. They thought you were old if you had a cane. I had a collapse-able cane that I could carry in my hand bag. It would open up like magic and the kids liked trying it out. It was fun to them. Also I would bring it out to get things that were up high, showing it was a useful tool.

While working as an EA, I got my dream position - see my post on what I do at: @porters/when-work-is-play-what-i-do

One other thing that helped in my recovery was rebounding, bouncing on a mini trampoline that had a memory mat on it. If you're interested do a search on it to see all the benefits.

For me, while bouncing, all parts of my body were working together, synchronized. My left side had been left weakened with my injuries but bouncing strengthened it. Soon I was able to get rid of my cane.

I can honestly say now, that having healed, that this, my story, is now my history and it is not something that enters my mind every day like it use too. I am grateful I can walk and work on my homestead plus have a job I love! I am also grateful that I can be there for my son and now granddaughter.

I hope you gained some insights from this, my healing journey, and if you too have a story to tell, please share it with the Natural Medicine community.