"This ENabled Life"

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Alicia Reagan "This Enabled Life"

This particular blog is written by a woman named Alicia Reagan who had a life-altering diagnosis. She woke up on March 12, 2009 paralyzed from her ribs down while she was pregnant with her sixth child. Some months later, she was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis(TM) with damage at the C5-C7 vertebral level. In order to understand her diagnosis a little better, I researched the disease, as well as what to expect from a C5-C7 spinal cord injury. 

TM is an inflammation of both sides of one section of the spinal cord. Due to this inflammation and swelling of the spinal cord, nerve signals are interrupted at the injury/inflammation site. This can cause pain, weakness, sensory problems, bladder and bowel dysfunction, and paralysis. Some of the potential causes of TM are infections and immune system disorders that attack body tissues. In most cases, people can recover at least partially. In severe cases, people can be left with major disabilities. I would find Alicia somewhere in the middle. She has seemed to make the most of her disability, to where you cannot tell if she considers herself disabled or not. She does with what she has!

I would assume that her injury was incomplete due to her functional ability. She is able to perform a lot of self-care activities independently. According to Quick Reference Dictionary for Occupational Therapy and according to her YouTube videos, she can perform ADLs, transfers, bed mobility, push-ups in wheelchair for pressure release, and operate a manual wheelchair independently. She has full function in her upper extremities. I am unaware of her bowel and bladder abilities, or if she is able to control those voluntarily or not. 

I chose to write this post about Alicia because we are currently learning about spinal cord injuries and she has a lot to say about them and a lot to teach about her own injury and abilities. I really admire the ability of this woman to take her diagnosis and all that comes with it and turn it into a positive experience. I'm sure she has had her moments, but she seems to be extremely positive and grounded in her faith, helping her to make the best of her situation. She has made a series of YouTube videos covering different topics related to her spinal cord injury which have been extremely beneficial to myself and my classmates.

As a future OT, it is inspiring to see how someone can adapt and live their life to the fullest despite a disability or disease telling them otherwise. She has inspired me to see the good in her situation and others similar and not similar to hers and to mainly see the ways in which the situation can be made to shed light and even be informative. I have no doubt that she has given others that are in a similar situation to hers hope and inspiration.

If you want to be inspired, check out her blog:

https://aliciareagan.com/

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