Beyond the Chair—A Life Full of Strength, Sacrifice and Silent Battles
I'm loving reading the entries into our June Point Store challenge that I'm hosting with Anna "Banana" Kruchten! What wonderfully creative posts we've all enjoyed. Our point was for our members to enter The Point Store from the front, back or side doors - or even from the basement or windows! Since mine is not creative - merely from the heart - I suppose you can say I'm entering this from the kitchen door - you know, the heart of the home! ❤️
If ActiveRain points were real money, I know exactly how I’d spend mine—I’d use every single one to reverse the spinal cord injury that changed my husband’s life forever. Tuesday, June 24, 2025 marks 35 years since the day he dove off a backyard pool diving board and broke his neck. He has so very gracefully spent thirty-five years of navigating life as a C6 quadriplegic.
That’s 35 years of missed normalcy—the kind of daily living most people don’t even think twice about. He hasn’t walked, jogged, or used his hands for everyday tasks since that day. No tying his shoes, buttoning his shirt, or turning the pages of a book without assistance. He’s never driven the sports car he used to dream about owning.
He’s missed out on taking the grands on long walks or hikes; he’s missed out on changing our grandchildren’s diapers—something he really does want to be able to do to help me when Liam stays with us. He can’t walk into a pool on his own—he has to rely on a mechanical lift. When we travel, it’s a whole process to make sure the airline has accommodations set up, the hotel handicapped room is TRULY handicapped and isn’t just a room with hand bars on the jacuzzi tub to hold onto as you step into it! He has to make sure the hotel bed is low enough for transferring in and out of his chair or that the sink has clearance underneath so he can brush his teeth. The amount of pre-planning and problem-solving for “accessible” travel would make your head spin.
And don’t even get me started on handicapped parking. If you’ve ever wondered why some spaces are van-accessible or why that extra room beside the car matters—trust me, we live those reasons every single day. Those spaces with stripes in parking lots are there for a reason! Imagine being handicapped and unable to get into your vehicle to drive because someone parked in the stripped space where your wheelchair ramp goes down, keeping you from entering your vehicle.
Speaking selfishly, there are no long walks on the beach with your loved one, no dancing at weddings - or even your own. There are no picnics in the park that don’t require major planning. Oh, there’s so much more…
So yes, I’d spend all of my so-called valueless points in a heartbeat to give him back even one day of full mobility as well as gaining the vision back in his left eye that he lost in 2019. Just one day to experience the ease of living a life that most people enjoy without a second thought. That, to me, would be worth more than all the money (or points) in the world.
Thank you, Anna "Banana" Kruchten, for being a wonderful partner-in-crime for this month's challenge! 😘
© Debe Maxwell, CRS | The Maxwell House Group | Savvy + Company | SavvyBroker@me.com | Beyond the Chair—A Life Full of Strength, Sacrifice and Silent Battles
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