Skip's Solitutde

In life we are faced with many thing that are out of our control. For Skip that started at birth, being born premature and with cerebral palsy he was faced with many barriers early on. He expresses never feeling like he fit in, not wanting to go to school, and fearful of what people thought of him due to physical disabilities associated with cerebral palsy. Throughout childhood and into early adulthood Skip underwent multiple surgeries to increase his quality of life by operating on his legs. Tragedy struck again in the early 2000’s when Skip lost his balance and fell resulting in paralysis due to a broken neck. Despite loosing more mobility Skip worked hard at learning news ways to navigate life. Throughout life Skip has struggled with anxiety, depression, and PTSD as a result of all he has been through. This was intensified after the accident when he was no longer able to care for himself independently and was placed in a nursing home at the age of 37. This was the first time he reached out in desperation to his parents due to feeling suicidal. He felt ashamed to be surrounded by people that were not his age and that he could not relate to. This was when Skip’s parents helped connect him with Peace Of Mind, Duluth where Skip has lived for almost 14 years. Skip’s feelings of desperation and suicide began to decrease, and he began connecting to staff and finding purpose in life again. Skip reports that he finally was feeling that he was adjusting to life as a quadriplegic and learning ways to be independent with the support and encouragement from the owner and all the staff at his current group home.  Skip was then faced with one of the biggest hurdles of his life. He slipped into a coma after a medical emergency occurred. He remained in a coma for 30 days fighting for his life. While in a coma Skip lost blood flow to his arms and legs which ultimately resulted in them having to be amputated. Skip now is completely dependent upon the staff, struggles even more significantly with his self-esteem, and lives with chronic pain daily. He would like to be able to not have to rely on any narcotic pain medication but instead to manage all pain and spasms with medical marijuana. Skip has been approved through the state of MN to receive his medical cannabis card but is looking for support in raising the money needed to pay for his card and monthly medication. Skip has faced several barriers that have impacted his quality of life and yet he remains optimistic despite all the tragedy he has been faced with. Please consider donating to Skip.