This time of the year is probably the hardest. There honestly isn’t another time where I feel soooo handicapped. It’s wedding anniversary August 21st, 21 years 🫸🫷😍, and accident anniversary August 22nd, 8 years👩‍🦼, and the start of school. We have our last two in hight school and one in college. I’m incredibly thankful and proud of my kids. We have been through way more than anyone could expect.

But as year 7 wraps up and 8 begins, I’ve had some super awesome things continuing to progress. No one could have imagined the things I’m now able to do, I’m a person who stands😃. And, 3 years ago we added another fun thing to the crazy time. More about that in a bit.

I have tried to do something fun or outside of my normal for my anniversary celebration. This year, two weeks before, I was watching TV and saw a show about Michigan DNR offering more accessible recreational options. They were hightlighting a hunting lodge built to accommodate wheelchairs, and it showed a handicapped hunter riding in a track chair.

The DNR has a chair you can reserve for the beach…Here watch this…

*Secret but shhh don’t tell anyone. It’s free to reserve.

It is an awesome tool I wish I knew about sooner. I will for sure be taking advantage of this great ride. So, Tammy, I, and my OT, Jamie -she gets to have all the fun 😉, in planning a beach trip to celebrate, headed there to scope out bathrooms, the best spot to sit…it was awesome.

It was absolutely beautiful! I hadn’t realized how much I missed the water. It’s part of what I really love about living in Michigan. All the water and none of the salt. 😉

I walked so far this trip. We didn’t even take the chair out of the car. But, honestly, the bench kept creeping further and further away when I just needed to sit a minute. Nothing brings more reality than walking and feeling almost normal until I need to sit.🙃

The next week though, on August 22nd 8 year anniversary, we made a OT session at the beach and invited a lot of my current #TeamGavrilides team. Sorry to those I missed inviting. 🫣 Thank You to those who came! I have some videos and pictures.

It was a beautiful, sunny day. Not hot, which was a very nice change since it’s been a crazy hot summer. For our only trip to the beach it was a great time. It’s crazy that now I don’t have to carry all the kids stuff, but they had to carry mine. It’s a little crazy how much stuff I need to go…anywhere now. I love how willing they are to pack the whole house so I can sit at the beach for a few hours.

I just realized, the orange bag in the back ground of the last picture of the girls, is a friend I hadn’t seen in a few years. She came over and we had a few minutes to connect. It was wonderful! Not sure how my speech was because I was exausted. There is just so much extra stimulation that I can’t really prepare for, I just have to use a little more exposure to heal.

During these trips as we were talking about the anniversary of the accident, my occupational therapist asked me if I had something I called this day. She had had clients use all kinds of exploitative words to describe the anniversary that changed their lives. I tried to come up with something, anything but I kept coming up with zilch.

And then, she asked me again at the beach. On the way to the chair and this image popped into my brain…

The more I’ve thought about this image, the more I think it fits. I’m going to share somethings about my accident that I’ve had a hard time sitting and facing. I wonder…why me, why did God choose to save & heal me …

So, I don’t remeber the accident, in saying that, much of this is what I’ve heard & read but never really talked about or processed. I’ll, as best as I can in Heather speak, meaning lots of pictures and jokes,share. I hope I honor those who do remember that night.

We were hit on the passengers side in the back end, sending us into a spin. We were hit again on my side. They had to cut into the car to get me out, with the jaws of life.

Because my injuries were so potentially bad, I was air lifted Grand Rapids. It’s common to see in TV shows, people who get a neck brace. Thankfully it’s standard procedure now days, because I was interally decapitated. Deep breath. Read that again.

I’m fairly certain I had to be recessated at least once on that helicopter trip.

Once at the hospital I needed to have my spleen removed and a pin placed in my shattered pelvis. I had multiple rib fractures. During my check up with the doctor who bracketted my cervical spine, I was told that often when people arrive in the ER with the injuries I had, they have to decide, pretty much on the spot, if the healing process is worth the odds or chances that the person will survive. My take away…it really was a toss up if I would make it longer than 24 hours. He chose to do the surgery and I am so very grateful!

During my initial testing they preformed on me, they found my most diffical injury, traumatic brain injury. I was just reading the CT report, which I mostly don’t understand but there is a summary at the bottom of the report. (For dummies like me who have a very distant memory of words used in radiology reports & medical verbiage. We are talking 17 + years ago…so 😏) But, there was a contusion on my brain but also evidence that my brain twisted inside my skull.

Each injury, by itself is a pretty big deal, but on top of each other…they were not sure if I would ever wake up, let alone walk or talk. Doctors spent a lot of time preparing Matt for the worst possible out come, because they weren’t expecting much as far as healing. Medically I’m an incomplete quadriplegic. I remember hearing that for the first time, about a year ago. It hit me like when I saw the words “non verbal ” written on my communication board during my bowel surgery a few years ago.

But God…

For the last 8 years I’ve had to face the reality of my “new normal”, which 8 years later isn’t new anymore. It is constantly changing and not changing all at the same time. The progress I’ve made in the last year…whoa. I mean I’ve been discussing volunteering…like I’m ready to be trying to do something that isn’t therapy on purpose.

I’m excited to see the growth this year brings. I have big expectations. My family continues to grow in ways that amaze me. But over the last few months I’ve learned I have a voice. Not everyone appreciates it as much as I do, but I’m learning. Recovering people pleaser here.

To finish up the end of summer, we were invited back to go camping by one of Matt’s friends. While we had different problems this year than last, but I felt overall it was easier. Lol I don’t actually have to do much…anything really. I can’t. Lol but I do appreciate just being out camping. This year I came back and didn’t have days of brain recovery down time. I just find I’m sleeping harder at night.

I’ll leave you with a pictures of my family playing with glow sticks brought by a friend who’s an adult by age only. 😉

Anyone know if in Cornhole there are any loop holes for handicapped people? I stood up on the side of one box and threw as far as I could…not shabby. Not getting any points for that spot though. Unless, there’s a loop hole 🤞…

Playing with glow sticks thanks to N who helped entertain my kids. How do we tell Cole his hat(?) might be overkill.

New hair! Thank you Sarah!! It feels good to have some blonde back in my hair.

Life continues to be busy. And then…school started. I miss my kids. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this time with me as I share the over view of this past year. Year 7 was a great recovery year. I’m hopeful year 8 will be at least as good.

#faithtowalkinthemiddle #TeamGavrilides accessories art baptism bible blog christianity exercise faith family fashion fiction god hair health holidays jesus jewelry life mental-health music praise Seeds of Hope thanksgiving therapy writing