A Narrative Essay On Why I Deserve A Scholarship

When I was fourteen, I was in an accident which resulted in a spinal cord injury - incomplete, leaving me paralyzed from my waist down. We had recently relocated to Texas from Florida, so all of our family and friends were predominantly in Florida. For me the unexpected or “catastrophic” event was arduous for me to overcome. My mother, father, and brother were all supportive during my rehabilitation journey. I spent seven months at Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) in Houston, ninety miles from home. I quickly learned that of the one-hundred or so patient’s sharing the facility with me, I was the only one who would leave there being able to walk. Not well, or steady, but walking, none the less. After returning home, I faced
another year of physical therapy to be able to walk using a cane. When I returned to high school, after missing almost all of my freshman year, my friends and classmates accepted me back and treated me no differently than before. The biggest factor that lead to my positivity and optimism was my mother’s resilience and strength. I’m sure the seven months I was in Houston were very difficult for her, as the parents of patients were advised to only visit once a week. According to (Monden, Trost, Catalano, Garner, Symcox, Driver, & ... Warren (2014) resilience is defined as compelling coping skills when faced with adversity, coupled with an individual’s ability to “bounce back” after a stressful event. For those with spinal cord injuries, resilience has been shown to reduce depression associated with a long term life altering injury. The research suggests that those with spinal cord injuries flourish when there is support from family, friends, caregivers, and rehabilitation staff (Monden, Trost, Catalano, Garner, Symcox, Driver, & ... Warren, 2014). The biggest obstacle I have faced in the past thirty-four years is people staring at me when I walk or when I am on my mobility scooter and asking me “what happened”? In the beginning, I found the stares and questions intimidating and personal. Over time, I learned that those stares and questions are opportunities to educate others. I am thankful for Christopher Reeve increasing spinal cord injury awareness.
Myself and my family had to adjust our lives for almost a year and my parents made new friends as a result of the accident.
The resources we had access to were: great health insurance, great doctors, and counselors to help me and my family learn to adjust, and independent living skills. The counselors I interacted with worked with me with the stigma attached to those in wheelchairs and it was helpful. I learned determination, and perseverance. I was separated from my family for seven months in a hospital rehabilitation facility, so I learned to be assertive, to adapt, and learned self-sufficiency at a young age. Over the years I have had to integrate myself socially into society, both in school and the workplace. It has not always been easy. A few places I have worked insisted the handicapped spots were for customers and not employees. I’ve also worked at places who provided me my own personal parking spot. At each occupation, I addressed the barriers directly and accommodations were made, although at one place I opted to resign if my needs were not met. Cardoso & Sacomori (2014) found that there is a deep-seated connection between adaptability and the level of social integration of individuals with disabilities. I am thankful I learned effective coping skills early on during the crisis, those have carried me throughout my life in social
situations.
I feel our community lacks social agencies that can help address individuals with disabilities. To my knowledge, we have an independent living facility that teaches life skills, Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (D.A.R.S.), and an equine therapy facility. I feel all three of these resources are somewhat unknown to most people. In the future I would like to see more resources dedicated to helping others to learn coping skills and how to overcome potential social integration problems.