The Story

This is a blog designed to keep my family and friends up to date with my recovery in therapy and life. For those that don't know, I was is a terrible snowboarding accident on March 4, 2010. I was traveling down a trail with my brother-in-law Casey. We were going fast, but weren't out of control. Due to the time of the day, there was what they call " a white out effect", that's when a person has a hard time noticing some elevation changes in the snow. Unfortunately for me, when I reached the point in the trail where it merged with another trail, there was a bad drop off. By the time I realized this it was too late. I sailed off of the drop and was about 15-20ft. in the air before I landed on my tailbone in the hard packed snow. My legs instantly went numb and I was having a very hard time breathing. Casey rushed to me and all I could say was " I just paralyzed myself, go get help!". I was air lifted to Loma Linda Hospital and after hours of test they found that I had shattered my T12 vertebrate. I was put into surgery for 4 hours and received a titanium cage, rods, screws and other materials to rebuild my spine. During the injury my spinal cord was compressed and the broken pieces from the vertebrate actually punctured my spinal cord. After a few days in the ICU, I started to get feeling on the top of my thighs, knees and front of my shins. This was amazing because initially the doctors didn't expect me to regain much, if any , feeling or movement in my legs. I spent 8 days recovering in the ICU before I was transferred to Long Beach Memorial Rehab Center. I spent 2 weeks recovering there, as well as receiving great therapy. I progressed so well that I was actually discharged a week early. Next, I researched outpatient therapy centers and found Precision Rehabilitation in Long Beach. Lucky for me their gym is close and has some of the most qualified therapist in the country. That's the story and the rest will be posted here for you all to enjoy.

As you all can imagine, this has been a terrorizing experience. If it wasn't for the strong support of my family and friends, I know without a doubt, I wouldn't be able to get through this. I strongly look forward to getting back on my feet, so that I can enjoy everyday with my beautiful wife and wonderful boys.


Monday, August 30, 2010

August 30

Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing well. I've been doing really good myself lately and I thought that I would update you all. The past couple of weeks I've been working extra hard. I was feeling like I wasn't seeing the progress that I like, so I decided to step it up. I started to push myself around the house more with my forearm crutches and have been trying not to rely on my wheelchair as much. I'm happy to tell you that yesterday, for the first time, I spent the entire day out of my wheelchair! Naturally it isn't something I can do everyday, but it was very motivating to get me out of my chair. Some of you may remember me posting a video of myself trying to take unassisted steps at therapy in the parallel bars. Well I've been practacing here at the house and I'm getting better. I wanted to show you how it's looking, so here is a short video of me trying to walk on my own. I had to keep the crutches in my hands for safety, but I practice some without them. I'm excited to see that my hard work has been paying off and more excited to share it with you. Thanks for all of the support, Josh.
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

August 24

Here's a little video from therapy the other day. These workouts are designed to help strengthen my back and challenge my balance. A month ago I wouldn't have been able to do the workout with the ball because my hips were not strong enough to keep my balance, so that shows some of the little progress that I've been making. Enjoy!
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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

August 11

Sorry I haven't had much to write about recently, but I'm still working hard in therapy. The whole family was sick the last couple of weeks, but we're feeling better now. My insurance stoped covering my therapy visits back in June, so we've been paying out of pocket, thanks to all of the donations. I haven't been able to record much in therapy, but I do have a little video of what keeps me motivated. I know you all like to see the videos, so here is one with Riley and myself playing in our front yard. Video
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