Living With a Spinal Cord Injury
Rich Hamill
A high school senior, on his way up north for some skiing with his buddies, Rich Hamill never made it to the slopes. The van he was riding in hit black ice and ran into a bridge. All four passengers were thrown from the vehicle. Rich’s injuries left him paralyzed from the neck down.
After surgery on his neck, he was transferred to Mary Free Bed where he spent the next three months. Rich was young and very motivated to do everything he could to get out of the hospital in time for his high school graduation. He was supposed to be in the hospital for six months, but with determination and the help of his doctors, he made the goal of attending his graduation a reality.
Now, almost 15 years later, Rich is living a very active life working in sales and doing motivational speaking in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Tom Weaver
Tom Weaver and a friend were cruising along the winding Blue Ridge Parkway on their motorcycles, enjoying the freedom of the road and the scenic mountain views. Then one of the twists in the road took him by surprise. “I missed the left-hand curve and my buddy saw me hit the guard rail,” says Tom.
Tom spent 11 days in a North Carolina trauma center and two more weeks in a Grand Rapids ICU before being transferred to Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. His injuries left him paralyzed from the waist down. Yet because of the support and expertise of the doctors, nurses and therapists in the Mary Free Bed Spinal Cord Injury Program, he still had hope.
“When I was first admitted,” he explains, “I had to be hydraulically lifted from the bed to a wheelchair for my therapy sessions.” Tom spent the next 2 1/2 months working hard to regain his independence. “The therapists and nurses have a feeling for how far they can push you. They would push to get me to do things on my own – which really helped my recovery.”
One of Tom’s biggest accomplishments while at Mary Free Bed was his completion of the driver rehabilitation program. He learned to drive a vehicle with special controls that he can operate with his hands. Today he drives his own modified van, getting around town with no assistance at all.
His rehabilitation has given Tom back his freedom. He’s even been able to return to his full-time job at Jenison High School, where he teaches mathematics – and optimism. “No one at Mary Free Bed ever told me, ‘You won’t be able to do that,’” he says.
Matt Clements (2005)
Matt sustained injuries to his spinal cord in June 2005. Though he missed his July wedding, it was rescheduled for that December. He reports that “this time the wedding went great, and now my wife, Kristin, and I are happily married.”
Matt began playing wheelchair tennis last March and fell in love with the sport. “I never thought it was possible until I tried it, and since then I have never missed a practice,” Matt said. “I competed in two tournaments in 2006. Going out to check out the sport was one of the best decisions I have made in my life!”
Matt also spends time volunteering at the Youth Christ Donation Center in Holland where he sets up and runs their Internet auctions. The organization sells most everything people donate either at www.biddingatauction.com, which is located in Grand Rapids, or on eBay. Matt helped the center turn in close to $100,000 in 2006; he plans to help raise more for Youth for Christ of Ottawa and Allegan counties in 2007.
“I still drive a pickup, and don't want to imagine having to drive anything else,” Matt states. “I am looking to go back to school and finish my degree to pursue a well-paying job. I try to live life with no regrets. My accident may have been one small setback, but now looking ahead I believe I am going to be going places above and beyond where I would have been if it had never happened. My encouragement to others: Love life and live it!”
Curt Bender (1989)
Curt has been playing wheelchair tennis since 1992. As a player for the Men’s A Division, he holds a current United States Tennis Association (USTA) ranking in the top 20 of the division. Curt sustained his spinal cord injury several years ago in a motor vehicle accident and became involved with wheelchair tennis when a friend took him to a Grand Rapids Wheelchair Sports Association (GRWSA) practice 14 years ago. All it took was that one practice – he was hooked!
Curt loves the physical activity of the sport, and he really enjoys socializing with other fellow wheelchair athletes, both on tour and locally through GRWSA. He also participates locally in the one-up/one-down doubles league that made USTA history last winter as the nation’s first official league. Curt enjoys playing with able-bodied partners in local competitions without having to travel out of state to play.
Curt has enjoyed watching the game of wheelchair tennis grow throughout the world and even contributes to its popularity. Last year, Curt was named vice chair on the USTA Midwest Wheelchair Tennis Committee, which promotes the growth of wheelchair tennis in the midwest states and helps others start grassroots programs. He also was recently selected to serve on the USTA national committee.
When Curt is not on the court, he works as an electrical engineer at Tennant Company in Holland and is a graduate of Ferris State University. Curt and his wife, Lynn, are actively involved in the GRWSA wheelchair tennis program. Lynn is the head coach and tournament director for the Midwest Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. They have a son, Jaden, who is 3 years old.
Rex Kessler (2000)
Rex expanded his shop (Kessler Woodworking) to more than 4,500 square feet. Rex started his own woodworking business in 2002 after “getting tired of sitting around.”
“It was harder on me to sit and do nothing than to get moving,” Rex said. Now, Rex spends his days in his shop, working on everything from custom hardwood flooring to wood fireplaces to custom cabinetry. “Motivation, moving, and trying are the keys, ”Rex states. “I never gave up trying.”
Breck Lonier (1999)
Breck, now 44, sustained a life-changing spinal cord injury after falling from a tree stand. Breck reports he was devastated – physically, emotionally, in just about every way possible. During two months of treatment at Mary Free Bed, however, his outlook gradually began to shift.
“At first, I thought of all the things I couldn’t do,” said Breck, a manufacturing manager in Lansing. “But things started to change for me once I decided to focus on what I wanted to do – and resolved to figure out a different way to make them happen.” His first order of business was to start hunting again. “Bow hunting is a sport I’m passionate about,” Breck said. “I grew up in the country and love the outdoors. I was determined to find a way to continue enjoying the sport I’ve loved since I was 12.”
Using equal doses of determination and creativity, Breck drew on his knowledge of steel fabrication to adapt old hunting techniques to his new circumstances. First, he crafted a custom bow mount for his wheelchair. Next, he designed a 48-square-foot insulated hunting shanty with a wheelchair ramp. Finally, Breck converted a golf cart that could navigate the rough terrain back and forth between his shanty and his truck. The hunting shanty was Breck’s real breakthrough. He ran pulleys to windows all around so he could open any of them from his wheelchair with minimal movement and sound. Breck eventually built shanties in his two favorite hunting spots – one near Ionia, another in Michigan’s thumb region.
“The shanties have worked so well that I’ve even built them for family members who
aren’t in a wheelchair, ”Breck said. Following his two months at Mary Free Bed and another two months of rehabilitation at home, Breck drove himself back to his job as manager for fabrication at Roberts Sinto, a maker of foundry machinery in Lansing.He also stays active mentoring other hunting accident survivors at Mary Free Bed, creating wood-burning art in the winter, and raising his 12-year-old son. Breck’s educational video, Wait Until Tomorrow, shows how he performs various activities of daily living, and was done in collaboration with Western Michigan University occupational therapy students and Mary Free Bed’s Spinal Cord Injury Program. The video is regularly used as a teaching tool by MFB therapists with newly-injured patients.
“After the accident, life was pretty depressing,” Breck admits. “On bad days, I’d tell myself ‘just wait until tomorrow.’ You know what I learned? Inevitably, things really did look a little better by the next day.”