On July
25, 1964, my dive too deep turned my life and my wifeÕs upside down. My
neurosurgeon was brutally honest and put it this way: ÒYou broke your neck and
crushed your spinal cord. YouÕve lost movement and sensation in both arms and
both legs. YouÕre totally and permanently paralyzed from your shoulders down.
ÒYouÕll
probably never get out bed. If you do, youÕll never walk, and itÕs not likely
youÕll live much past forty.Ó
Hearing
these crushing words, my mind screamedÉ
Why me?
This is
not a depressing account of adjusting to life with a disability. Rather, this
is a story of committed love and humor alongside the agony we faced while
adjusting to this new and different world. We struggled through two months in
the bowels of MethodistÕs ICU and twelve months at Sister Kenny Rehabilitation
Institute where their staff reconstructed my broken body and confused mind.
We
survivedÉ
Fourteen
months after my life-altering dive, I returned to work. And for the next 39
years, I lived and worked. My disability presented opportunities; opportunities
to change attitudinal
barriers by opening minds, and opportunities to break down architectural
barriers by opening doors.
Opportunities often come
along disguised as a Why me
life-altering experience.
We
thrivedÉ
To place a book order or for more information, visit www.adivetoodeep.com, If you donÕt have a PayPal account, contact rpeters540@aol.com