Life since my accident has not been easy, I'll give you that, but it has not stopped me from doing much! After we returned home from South Africa I stayed at home on our farm for four months, mainly sleeping and recuperating. By the time May came I was determined to go back to school. Everyone thought I was mad but this was not going to stop me. I successfully completed my school year that ended nicely with me coming runner up for the 'student of the year' award trophy. Ever since then I have been in education up until today (June 2007).
Throughout the past ten years I have been up to all sorts. These include fishing, camping, sunbathing and travelling. These things would not have been possible without the close support of my dad and brother. We have been through thick and thin, ups and downs all together as we have been a close family unit, some times more than others. Doing all these activities requires a lot of forward planning. Due to the economic collapse of the country and the lack of medical facilities to meet my situation my dad decided it best to relocate to the UK in 2002.
My day to day life has become quite a routine so that everything gets done. Being as paralysed as I am requires you to depend on others for so many things, lots of which others take for granted. An example of this is relying on somebody to move my hair when the wind blows it onto my face, or to scratch my nose when it itches. These are just simple things, not to mention worrying about pressure care (this is repositioning my body so that I don't get pressure or bed sores), washing, feeding and dressing me everyday. I have also been limited to things that I can do because I cannot just get into a car and go somewhere spontaneously. I go through a series of questions like "do I have someone to lift me into the car or do I even have a car that is wheelchair accessible?", "who can I rely on to help me out if I need anything?" and "is the place we are going wheelchair accessible (depending on the strength of the people coming with me!)?".
I am determined not to let my disability get the better of me, so I try to concentrate on the positive things in life such as the sun shining, family and friends. I do not like the idea of people feeling sorry for me or me feeling sorry for myself. People ask me how I can go around with a smile on my face all the time and my answer to that question is that I do not see it as being a choice because if I was anything else, it would not be me. I suppose I could go around making everyone's life a misery, but then no one would want to spend any time with me and then my life would also be a misery!