Bravery and Courage

I decided to do another blog post on a person that has had a SCI, because I am so interested in how different people around the globe react to and cope with life-altering injuries, especially those that include quadriplegia. Unlike my last post about the main character in the movie Me Before You that sustained a high level SCI that resulted in quadriplegia whom decided to end his life via euthanasia, this post is about someone that had the same prognosis in life, but has thus far chosen to go a different route and live. She has determine to not only live and survive, but to live her life to the fullest, in whatever new capacity that may be for her. This woman's name is Elizabeth Forst. She was/is a certified diver and this was her passion until her obviously unexpected SCI at the C4/C5 level that left her paralyzed from the neck down, no longer able to dive anymore, or so you might think. Her story is of one of not giving up, though there are bad, even awful, days. Instead of accepting and thinking that she would never dive again, with the help of other expert divers, she will (did) dive again. This time, it would be an even more difficult task. Since she has no use of her arms or anything below her neck, her only signals underwater will be slight and hardly noticeable. She will have to rely on the ability of those she is diving with to be able to interpret her signals (eyeblinks, winks, shoulder shrugs, head nods) and be able to act accordingly. To relate back to my last post, there was a man who remembered all he used to be and all he used to do and he couldn't fathom an existence in which he was no longer able to do those things. All he could think was that he would never do again, and what he could do wouldn't be the same. I empathize very much with this perspective because I don't know what I would do or how I would feel. I'm not sure I'd be anymore positive than he was. And I don't think his choice of euthanasia was selfish or wrong. However, reading Elizabeth's post is also very inspiring. These two (fictional and nonfictional) people are on opposite ends of the spectrum. He chose to end his life, while she is choosing not only to continue, but to thrive and experience. I didn't just read her inspiring post, however. I wanted to know about her bad days, too, and what she does to cope. I read another one of her posts, and in it she said some profound and inspiring words. She said she always cries and lets out all of her frustrations when she feels the need to. This is crucial for moving past the moment of despair. Take deep breaths. Watch a movie. Listen to music. Distract your mind of the consuming thoughts and negativity. She said that if there's one thing we can be sure of in life, it's change. Change is inevitable and always going to happen. That includes the depression, anxiety, and fear-ridden thoughts that inevitably invade your mind at some point, especially the minds of those that have these life-altering accidents and/or conditions/diseases. She said just remember that tomorrow is a new day and change will come!

One important thing I have taken away from this course thus far, and from writing these posts is that I am incredibly blessed for all that I have and am able to do. That I can sit in my bed and use my fingers to type this post. That I can get up when I'm done, get in my car and drive wherever I want to, or run/walk wherever I want to. That I get to go to school everyday. I have so many blessings in my life and I hope to always express my gratitude for them, and never ever take them for granted, as they can easily be taken from me in less than a blink of an eye.


Anything is possible - Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.christopherreeve.org/blog/daily-
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