* * * Remembering September 25, 1972 – a life-changing experience * * * I think the government declares every month as something month, and each month has probably about a dozen or more declared causes. My Facebook page has been showing that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. But for the rest of this month I am promoting a little-known fact that September is also Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month. On September 25, 1972, I became a citizen of the community of those people who have had the unfortunate experience who have had a spinal cord injury. This is not somewhere anyone wants to be. But things happen. For me it was a JV football game on a Monday night here in Tupelo when my life was changed forever ... On this Thursday, September 25, it will be 42 years since my injury. There have been many ups and downs (some of those very low ones) in those years, but I am doing well. Unfortunately, many people with SCI do not make the move that well. It is a long unending road that is different for each person. It is uncharted and full of surprises. There are very few people who have the level of injury that I do who have lived to the 42 year mark. I owe much of this success on my part to Valerie. She has kept me alive on many occasions. This year has been another one of those times when I would not have made it without her. I am very blessed! But everyone does not have someone with the knowledge and skills that Valerie does. The medical establishment, surprisingly to most people, knows very little about treating people with SCI. We are all lumped together with the general population and all of us are treated the same way no matter what our physical condition may be. The research for treating SCI has been extremely slow and has not gone as far as most people think. In fact, this area of medical research is still in the dark ages. There is no cure, and no matter what some people try to tell us, there is no cure in sight. Ever since my injury in 1972, I have been hearing of a new cure in the works that will be available to everyone in the next few years. After 42 years none of these has come through. Christopher Reeves injury back in the 90s brought a lot of much needed attention to SCI. He pushed for more research that gave a lot of people hope. But now that he is gone, much of the research has been put on the back burner. In spite of all the shortcomings in the past, there is still research going on. Any doctor with the knowledge and honesty would tell you that there is still very little known about the human nervous system. This not only covers the spinal cord, but the brain as well. This is all still the last frontier in medicine. All progress is slow, but it is going on behind the scenes. I know that there will not be a cure during my lifetime, but it is my hope that there will be many advances for the next generation. There are approximately 200,000 people living with spinal cord cord injuries in the United States. Every 48 minutes in our country, a person becomes paralyzed. I am still among that 200,000 - thankfully among those who are LIVING HAPPILY. Please support SCI research, as well as lending a hand to any of those 200,000 people. As all of you have been very good and kind to me over the past 42 years. For that I am extremely grateful. We have a long way to go and I hope you will all help the cause anyway you can. Thank you!
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 23:49:30 +0000
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