The Power of Knowing

Finishing the marathon in 1983

What attributes lie within you? Have you ever thought about that? In 1983, a few days before my fortieth birthday, I ran a marathon. For those of you who may not know, that is a race of 26.2 miles. I decided to do this because I wanted to show my 13 year old son you can do anything you set your mind to do. It just about did me in; I could not talk when I finished, but I did it. However, I never ran another marathon.

A few years after my injury, I started talking in local schools about inner strength, commitment and positive attitude.  After one assembly a young student named Tyler Kellogg came up to me and said I had inspired him, so he had decided he was going to run an Ironman Race. A traditional Ironman race consists of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and then a 26.2 mile run.  It was a major undertaking for a 17 year old kid. I thought to myself “Good Luck.”  We kept in touch while he and his Dad, who had decided to do the Ironman too, were training. Neither one of them had done anything like this before. Not only did they do it, but Tyler was the youngest finisher out of the 2208 who finished the race.  Roles had now been switched and Tyler had become my inspiration. Now when I struggle to do something, I try to remind myself of what Tyler did just because he had the desire.

I have thought a lot about these two events for a long time. I have come to the conclusion that the benefit of accomplishing feats like these lies not in the accomplishment itself but rather in the knowledge that you can, when you want or need to, marshal all the physical and mental strength that lies within you in an effort to attain a goal.

We have all run our own “Ironman Race.”  The demands placed on us by our disabilities are far more difficult than the stresses and strains experienced during the most punishing athletic event. Even the most grueling challenge is limited in time (Tyler finished in 14 hours, 36 minutes, 25 seconds) and there is always the option of dropping out if need be. You cannot say that about a disability. So understand what you have already done and are doing everyday. Know the strengths that lie within you. And if you remember this you can draw upon those strengths when needed. That is the power of knowing.

Tyler helping me start kayaking again

Tyler & me at his high school graduation party

Test Time

I thought it would be a good time to write about depression because I am really depressed today. The psychologist at Craig Hospital, where I did my rehabilitation, said depression/self-pity was an okay place to visit but a bad place to set up residence. My wife and I had a heated argument yesterday, very unusual for us. She accused me of lying to her about the availability of the money to finance our new van. She even went so far as to tell our son, a 39 year old civil engineer, I lied to her which pushed me off the deep end. Prior to my injury I got vigorous physical exercise every day which took care of most of my frustrations. I do not have that luxury anymore. I did smash my hand into the computer keyboard until she moved it. That felt good, until today. In all fairness to my wife she has been under a lot of pressure lately. One of her sisters was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and another with Alzheimer’s, plus she has some health issues of her own.  She is on edge and rightfully so.

What I’m really interested in, however, is me and my reactions. When I get depressed I begin to question my quality of life. I tell myself living in this chair is not quality of life. I live about 20 miles from the Canadian border and we have long, cold and snowy winters. As a result, I do not get to go outside and poke around like I can in the warmed weather.  Cabin fever is also a player.  I ask myself is this any way to live?  Then I start thinking about suicide and how I would do it. Most commonly I think about overdosing on my meds, hanging myself on my track lift (poetic justice) or some other gruesome way of solving my frustrations. I stare out the window, turn silent, refuse to eat or drink and occupy my time with some mundane task. The last 12 years of teaching I taught high school students who had emotional and behavioral problems. My behavior is classic passive aggressive.

Wikipedia states “Passive–aggressive behavior (negativistic personality trait) is passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following through with expectations in interpersonal or occupational situations. It is a  personality trait  marked by a pervasive pattern of negative attitudes and passive, usually disavow resistance in interpersonal or occupational situations. It can manifest itself as learned helplessness, procrastination, stubbornness, resentment, sullenness, or deliberate/repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is (often explicitly) responsible. It is a defense mechanism,  and usually only partly conscious.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive%E2%80%93aggressive_behavior#Diagnostic_criteria_.28DSM-IV_Appendix_B.29ed

After I’ve wallowed in this self-pity for awhile I begin to think about the consequences of my hypothetical actions. How would my children react, my grandchildren, my great grand children, the students I taught and the people who went out of their way to reach out to us after the accident? I have chosen to present myself as an example of how people can deal with the challenges they face.  I have spoken in many schools about the inner strength which lies in each and every one of us. What would they think if I did something so stupid?

After staring out the window for a long time my eyes will begin to focus on the view. Things are so beautiful where I live even in the winter.  Why would anybody intentionally leave this beautiful place? I spent months struggling to recover from my accident. I fought to live, I wanted to live, I want to live and I do have quality of life most of the time. Being in this chair, having to have someone assist me in the morning and help me get dressed is a small price to pay for being alive. What good is feeling sorry for myself going to do for me? I remind myself everyone has good days and bad days. I listen to REM’s Everybody Hurts (click on the link below) and remind myself that it is normal for anyone to have down days.  As the psychologist at Craig said it is okay to visit but no place to establish permanent residence. Don’t you agree?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2N_uvnvGbI

Time to Walk the Walk

In my previous three blogs I have encouraged individuals with disabilities to change their attitude, be willing to take some risks and begin to try some different ways to make their lives a little easier. I talked the talk but now it is time for me to walk the walk and show you some things that I’ve done to adapt equipment for my use. Below is a materials list of items that will be helpful to have around for making adjustments to things you use.

Cable ties    Clamps    Clips    Compression bandage    Duct tape   Electric tape Friction tape    Foam    Hose Clamps    Pipe Insulation    PVC Pipe    Straps and Webbing    String  Shoelaces    Velcro    Wooden Dowels

My hands are normally in a loose grip position. It is almost impossible for me to grip anything tightly. In order to hold on tight my hands must be strapped on the object.  I noticed lacrosse and hockey players wrap tape repeatedly around the same spot on their sticks to prevent their hands from sliding off the stick, so I decided to try it. If you look at the attached video (Adapting a Broom) you will see how I use friction tape and a piece of wooden dowel to enable me to use a broom. The friction tape has been used to make what I call a “stop.” On a long handle, such as this broom, you should decide where you want your lower hand positioned and place the “stop” right there. Wrap tape repeatedly around the same spot until you have built up a raised area on the handle. Grip the broom as best you can. When your hand slides up the handle it will come to rest against the “stop” and prevent any further upward movement.

 At the top of the broom handle I have taken a small piece of wooden dowel, which I removed from a foam paint brush, and passed it through the hole.  If the handle does not have a hole have someone drill one for you. Then I attached the dowel through the hole using a rubber band. This enables my wife to remove the dowel if it gets in her way.

 We have a wire wreath-like birdfeeder which is filled with peanuts. We then hang the wreath outside for Blue Jays and other birds. They will pull the peanuts out one by one. As you can see in the video, the kitchen floor is quite a mess when I finish. So I use the broom I have adapted to clean up. Use this technique on other long handled tools like a mop, leaf rake and  garden tools.    Adapting a Broom

Attitude Adjustment By Rich Fabend

My wife Marge, Foxy and Me

The radical physical and mental changes I went through following my accident were overwhelming. My mental rehabilitation lagged behind, slowed by two major thoughts. I had retired seven months prior, at age 55, looking forward to spending the years ahead pursuing the recreational activities I enjoyed so much. One of my biggest concerns adjusting to my new life was the belief that I would not be able to return to the activities which provided me with quality of life. I also feared my most productive days were behind me and I would simply exist for the rest of my life. The change in my outlook began during a recreation field trip to the Denver Zoo. I was accompanied on this field trip by my daughter and two grandchildren. As I watched my grandchildren running around and listened to their questions and the talk of others around me, I began to realize I still had much to share.

The ongoing process of mental recovery was greatly influenced by my former association with the martial arts and Project Adventure.  The martial arts stress the mind body connection, focusing one’s mental energy and looking at issues as challenges to be solved rather than problems with which to be dealt.  Project Adventure “… is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity which usually consists of high and/or low elements. Low elements take place on the ground or only a few feet above the ground. High elements are usually constructed in trees or made of utility poles and require a belay (being a attached to a safety line) for safety.”   (wikipedia.org/wiki/Ropes_course)  PA helped me understand what success and failure mean, including commitment and alternative ways of solving problems. The importance of the mind, the thought process and one’s attitude facing challenges became very clear to me. When trying to accomplish a task I believe it is human nature to rely on a method which has been successful in the past. This often encourages us to use only limited means to accomplish a particular goal. If I asked 10 people, most anywhere in the United States, to catch a fish chances are almost all of them would grab a fishing pole since this method has been successful and therefore widely used in our culture. Initially when dealing with the challenges placed on people by a disability, I think they often try to solve problems using the same skills they used before their impairment. This approach can create extreme frustration and an acute awareness of the limitations placed on them by their condition. In reality, if we think about it, there are usually many ways to solve a particular problem. If I presented the same challenge of catching a fish to 10 people who were selected from different cultures around the world we would probably see a wide variety of approaches to accomplishing this task.  Fish might be taken with a spear, bow and arrow, casting a net, using a gill net, with fish traps, use of hands (one hand method is called Noodling) or use of another animal like a cormorant. With this example it becomes apparent that there are a lot of different ways to accomplish a given task. So learn to think outside the box and experiment with different approaches.

My introduction to adaptive equipment began one day when I dropped a piece of paper on the floor. Because of my level of injury I was constantly dropping things and then having to call my wife or nurse to pick them up for me. I knew something had to change. How would my attitude toward picking up that piece of paper affect me?  If I decided I could not pick up the paper, chances are it would foster a negative feeling of defeat which then could further my disability.  It took me quite awhile including a lot of failure and frustration to reach the point where I am today.  If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.  How many times have we heard that?  I have learned over the last ten years that if you have an open mind and an active brain you can always find different ways or methods to solve most of the challenges we face. It is just a matter of how much thought, time and perseverance you are willing to commit to the process.  Check out my website www.handihelp.net for some of the methods I have come up with.