The next step...Project Walk
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My husband Lorin is quadriplegic, due to a car accident over 14 years ago. He has deep sensation feeling that gives us hope for more strength and mobility. Our goal is to get Lorin to Project Walk to build up his strength and stamina. We have researched their program over the last year and it looks promising. We are taking baby steps at this time. Initially we are shooting for 1 week of therapy.
The money raised would go towards the cost of therapy, food and housing for the week, plus transportation to and from Project Walk.
Our Story:
We met when we were 8 years old, and became friends almost right away. We were casual friends for several years. Poking fun at one another whenever we happened to cross paths.
We started dating when we were 18 and Lorin proposed on my 20th birthday.
On April 28, 2001 we were married. It was a beautiful spring day. One of those ones where the weather can't decide whether it wants to rain or shine. As a result we saw several rainbows on our wedding day (Seven if I remember correctly). One was even touching the ground at the intersection right next to the church where we held our reception.
On Thursday June 14, 2001 (the day after my birthday) we found out I was pregnant. It was a kind of surreal moment. I kept wondering if one of the pink lines was supposed to fade if it was negative. We were happy, but at the time, we didn't realize just how perfect a blessing it was.
Exactly one week later, while I was at work, I received a phone call from my mother-in-law. Lorin had been in a car accident while on his way to work and was being airlifted to the hospital. I almost collapsed from shock. One of my coworkers drove me to the hospital to be with him.
I got to the hospital minutes after he did. A nurse took me back to see him right away. The room they took me to was full of hustling nurses and doctors. The man they took me to see looked nothing like my husband. He was white as a sheet and his whole body was swollen. The nurse encouraged me to speak to him, and told me that he would hear me. I wish I could say that I had said something profound or particularly moving. All I said (in a shaky quiet voice) was, "Lorin... It's me...I'm here...I love you." Everyone else in the room ignored me as they struggled to save Lorin's life, so I quietly slipped out of the room.
Lorin had not been expected to survive the flight to the hospital, so the fact that he pulled through was a miracle. He woke up four weeks later. During those four weeks the counselors and nurses tried to prepare me for the worst. They explained to me that Lorin would most likely be angry and bitter, and that he may take it all out on me. When he woke up, his first thought was of me and the baby. His mother was with him and she let him know I was at the doctor's office for the baby. In his initial incoherent thoughts he believed it had been me in the accident and not him. His mother tried to assure him we were alright, but he would not accept it until he saw me a few hours later.
I was with him the day he realized the extent of his injury. It is one of the only times I have ever seen tears in his eyes.
Lorin spent a total of six weeks in ICU and then was transferred to another hospital for rehab. He spent another month and a half there, before he was able to come home.
Lorin has never been angry or bitter about his situation. He just shrugs his shoulders and says, "it is what it is." He is my rock. He has dealt with health issues left and right. This has left him primarily bed ridden for most of these last 13 years. In this last year and a half his health has taken a turn for the better. He has been able to be up and in his wheelchair almost every day for most of the day.
The one thing that we have struggled with is that he has deep sensation feeling. It is a blessing because it has given us hope for more mobility, someday. It is a curse because it can cause him pain and make it VERY difficult to get him comfortable in bed, or in his chair. The first time we realized he had true deep sensation feeling and not just phantom pain, was about a year after his car accident. We had a freak accident with his wheelchair while doing a manual transfer to the bed and the chair rolled forward twisting his foot underneath it. His ankle immediately began to hurt. When we had a doctor look at it the doctor pressed on different spots around the ankle (as he would a person with normal feeling). The doctor and I were both a bit shocked that Lorin was able to tell him where it did and did not hurt. He was diagnosed with a sprained ankle. Later, his chair took him for a ride down a steep hill and he ran into a chain link fence (we will have to upload a video of him telling this story, he tells it better than me.) He was complaining about severe pain in his knees. An x-Ray showed that he had hairline fractures in both knee caps. He was also informed that he had bruised the bone.
In the last few years his deep sensation feeling has increased. We feel there has to be a reason. Project Walks theory is that the body will naturally try to find a way to reconnect nerve pathways. Just like if you have a vein removed, your body will still find a way to supply blood to that area of the body.
We have come to the conclusion that at the very least, Lorin will gain strength that he does not currently have. We would be ecstatic for just that! At most he could WALK again. We are hopeful, but we will take whatever The Lord gives us. We feel that if we don't at least try for Project walk, we will go the rest of our lives wondering, what if?
Just a little glimpse into Lorin's spirited personality:
When he first got his power wheel chair he was doing donuts in parking lots, and in our driveway. He was popping wheelies, and doing all kinds of things that scared me. He has mellowed a little now that he can feel more (just a little).
Also shortly after his accident he met with someone who talked to him about his short term and long term goals. I wasn't with him and read his answers later when they mailed us a copy. His long term goal was to break the land speed record in a power wheel chair. He is ridiculous, lol. That is one of the things I love about him.
I didn't mention anything about our daughter. Just in case you are wondering...
Lorin was with me at the hospital for her birth. The three of us are very close. She is the light of our lives. Lorin is a protective father and is not happy that his baby girl is now a teen, lol.
The money raised would go towards the cost of therapy, food and housing for the week, plus transportation to and from Project Walk.
Our Story:
We met when we were 8 years old, and became friends almost right away. We were casual friends for several years. Poking fun at one another whenever we happened to cross paths.
We started dating when we were 18 and Lorin proposed on my 20th birthday.
On April 28, 2001 we were married. It was a beautiful spring day. One of those ones where the weather can't decide whether it wants to rain or shine. As a result we saw several rainbows on our wedding day (Seven if I remember correctly). One was even touching the ground at the intersection right next to the church where we held our reception.
On Thursday June 14, 2001 (the day after my birthday) we found out I was pregnant. It was a kind of surreal moment. I kept wondering if one of the pink lines was supposed to fade if it was negative. We were happy, but at the time, we didn't realize just how perfect a blessing it was.
Exactly one week later, while I was at work, I received a phone call from my mother-in-law. Lorin had been in a car accident while on his way to work and was being airlifted to the hospital. I almost collapsed from shock. One of my coworkers drove me to the hospital to be with him.
I got to the hospital minutes after he did. A nurse took me back to see him right away. The room they took me to was full of hustling nurses and doctors. The man they took me to see looked nothing like my husband. He was white as a sheet and his whole body was swollen. The nurse encouraged me to speak to him, and told me that he would hear me. I wish I could say that I had said something profound or particularly moving. All I said (in a shaky quiet voice) was, "Lorin... It's me...I'm here...I love you." Everyone else in the room ignored me as they struggled to save Lorin's life, so I quietly slipped out of the room.
Lorin had not been expected to survive the flight to the hospital, so the fact that he pulled through was a miracle. He woke up four weeks later. During those four weeks the counselors and nurses tried to prepare me for the worst. They explained to me that Lorin would most likely be angry and bitter, and that he may take it all out on me. When he woke up, his first thought was of me and the baby. His mother was with him and she let him know I was at the doctor's office for the baby. In his initial incoherent thoughts he believed it had been me in the accident and not him. His mother tried to assure him we were alright, but he would not accept it until he saw me a few hours later.
I was with him the day he realized the extent of his injury. It is one of the only times I have ever seen tears in his eyes.
Lorin spent a total of six weeks in ICU and then was transferred to another hospital for rehab. He spent another month and a half there, before he was able to come home.
Lorin has never been angry or bitter about his situation. He just shrugs his shoulders and says, "it is what it is." He is my rock. He has dealt with health issues left and right. This has left him primarily bed ridden for most of these last 13 years. In this last year and a half his health has taken a turn for the better. He has been able to be up and in his wheelchair almost every day for most of the day.
The one thing that we have struggled with is that he has deep sensation feeling. It is a blessing because it has given us hope for more mobility, someday. It is a curse because it can cause him pain and make it VERY difficult to get him comfortable in bed, or in his chair. The first time we realized he had true deep sensation feeling and not just phantom pain, was about a year after his car accident. We had a freak accident with his wheelchair while doing a manual transfer to the bed and the chair rolled forward twisting his foot underneath it. His ankle immediately began to hurt. When we had a doctor look at it the doctor pressed on different spots around the ankle (as he would a person with normal feeling). The doctor and I were both a bit shocked that Lorin was able to tell him where it did and did not hurt. He was diagnosed with a sprained ankle. Later, his chair took him for a ride down a steep hill and he ran into a chain link fence (we will have to upload a video of him telling this story, he tells it better than me.) He was complaining about severe pain in his knees. An x-Ray showed that he had hairline fractures in both knee caps. He was also informed that he had bruised the bone.
In the last few years his deep sensation feeling has increased. We feel there has to be a reason. Project Walks theory is that the body will naturally try to find a way to reconnect nerve pathways. Just like if you have a vein removed, your body will still find a way to supply blood to that area of the body.
We have come to the conclusion that at the very least, Lorin will gain strength that he does not currently have. We would be ecstatic for just that! At most he could WALK again. We are hopeful, but we will take whatever The Lord gives us. We feel that if we don't at least try for Project walk, we will go the rest of our lives wondering, what if?
Just a little glimpse into Lorin's spirited personality:
When he first got his power wheel chair he was doing donuts in parking lots, and in our driveway. He was popping wheelies, and doing all kinds of things that scared me. He has mellowed a little now that he can feel more (just a little).
Also shortly after his accident he met with someone who talked to him about his short term and long term goals. I wasn't with him and read his answers later when they mailed us a copy. His long term goal was to break the land speed record in a power wheel chair. He is ridiculous, lol. That is one of the things I love about him.
I didn't mention anything about our daughter. Just in case you are wondering...
Lorin was with me at the hospital for her birth. The three of us are very close. She is the light of our lives. Lorin is a protective father and is not happy that his baby girl is now a teen, lol.
Organiser
Tamara Anderson
Organiser
Graham, WA
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