For many of us, Pictured to the left:
hearing that we’d
Josh with his therapist.
----------------------------
probably never
Josh's brother, Dale,
walk again would desinged and built this
be enough to cause
Therapy bed, to allow the
therapist to work with Josh.
us to give up; we’d This bed lifts and lowers
spend our days
to make the job easier.
Dale has been contracted
vegetating, watching to build this bed for others
Springer on TV.
that have similar injuries!
Once the car came to rest and he
reoriented himself, Josh went to climb
out of the car. “I told myself to get out,
but when I looked down, my hands
were curled up in my lap and wouldn’t
move,” says Josh. “That’s when I knew
I was in trouble.”
He was taken to the local hospital
where doctors confirmed what Josh
already suspected: He’d fractured his
C4 and shattered his C5 vertebrae, and
his spinal cord had been nearly severed.
According to the doctors, Josh was
paralyzed from the neck down.
Josh’s Attitude
Josh’s mother cried as the doctors
gave their report. But Josh just smiled
at the doctor. “I respect you doc,”
he said, “but I’m going to prove you
wrong.”
He was transferred to the Shepherd
Center in Atlanta, a hospital that spe-
cializes in spinal cord and brain inju-
ries. He spent five months there, recov-
ering from his injuries and beginning
his therapy. Then, after only a few
weeks at home, he ended up back in the
hospital for another month with pneu-
monia. After half a year in the hospital,
Josh was finally home, beginning to
rebuild his life.
For many of us, hearing that we’d
probably never walk again would be
enough to cause us to give up; we’d
spend our days vegetating, watching
Springer on TV.
But that wasn’t Josh’s style. He
continued to work every day, trying to
regain as much control of his body as
he could. Today he has the use of his
arms, and has slight feeling returning in
GEARS January/February 2010 21
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