I find it a little entertaining that while my injury is really impactful on my mobility… it’s not all that impactful on my life anymore. It’s only been 12 weeks since my spinal cord injury started effecting me, but I’m feeling pretty groovy.
All the details of my life are different. Stuff like how I get in and out of bed, or the shower etc. But in terms of big things. Not much has changed at all.
My bike has gained a wheel. I’ve gone from riding and building mountain bikes to riding and building off road focused recumbent trikes. I still go for a cycle a few times a week. It’s just as technical and engaging to hustle the trike down a basic blue flow trail as it was to hammer my mountain bike down a red trail at the bike park. It’s a different kind of fun but more or less meets the same need. Good enough for now.
The second important change is in the furniture I use. In order to keep my tailbone pain under control I spend almost all of my time laying down or reclined. I spend less time at my desk and more time in a bed or a buggy. Physically that’s the largest change day to day.
The third change is less physical and more subtle. I’ve been forced to slow down a little. Life is much simpler so my pacing is slower and much easier. I rarely run out of spoons these days. We’ve got really good at matching my energy available to the demands placed on me. My support is going really well.
I wouldn’t choose this life. I am aware that there is huge complexity ahead once I start wanting to attend events, take trips to places like centre parks and have other adventures. But for day to day life we’ve found a really good groove.
I am thriving. I have autonomy and I am productive with my work and personal projects. We’ve established a stable foundation I can build on over the next few years.
