Blessed beyond measure

I know I haven't written as much the past week or so, but I tend to get writer's block from time to time. Fortunately, it usually doesn't last too long, though, before inspiration strikes and I think of a new topic to write about.

I've had something on my mind the past few weeks that I'll write about today. The Lord has blessed me in so many ways, but especially physically. I can't tell you how many health problems paralyzed people are prone to, but I can honestly say that I don't suffer from the majority of things that most quadriplegics do. I've been paralyzed for 7½ years, but I don't have a problem with things like chronic pressure sores, UTIs, etc. Sometimes I wonder why I'm so blessed, especially since I know other people in my situation that suffer physically and emotionally on a daily basis. I don't have an answer to the "why me/why not me" type of question, but all I can do is put my situation in the Lord's hands and let him do the rest. He takes good care of me.

I was recently paid a compliment that I wanted to write about since it's along these same lines. A man that I know from church (who is a nurse) told his wife (who told my mom) that he's never seen someone who is paralyzed as severely as I am who looks as good as I do so many years (7½) after being injured. I really hope I'm explaining this in a way that makes sense.  Maybe this will shed a little more light on why I was so pleased to hear this.

After breaking my neck at the C-2 level and becoming paralyzed from the neck down, one of my worries was that I would never again look normal and that I would take on that "stiff" disabled look that high-level quads tend to have. (Think Christopher Reeve.) 

Sometimes it's hard to see the bright side of things when I think of my body and know I'm not completely satisfied with the way that I look. However, when I look at the situation objectively, I DO think I look pretty good for someone who is completely paralyzed, so I try not to be so hard on myself.

There are two things that I attribute my relatively healthy situation to. I've already mentioned the first one – being blessed by the Lord, but the other is being blessed to have good people to care for me. The two that do the most care for me are my mom and my youngest sister Chandra. What would I do without these angels who make my challenging life so much more bearable?! I'm so grateful for my loving family and friends in general, but especially for these two amazing and selfless women! 

Here's a picture of the three of us: (Several people have asked me who my "friend" is in the pictures that I post on my blog. Well, she's actually my youngest sister, Chandra. She's adopted, obviously, and I'm so glad she is because she's a major part of my life! I just wanted to clear that up since a lot of people have asked, and I'm sure there's even more who have wondered, but didn't want to ask!