My Spinal Cord Injury

After 20 years with a Silicon Valley technology company working in education technology transformation, monitoring and evaluation, I moved to Oahu for a school leadership position. I was enjoying all of the excellent outdoor activities available in Hawai'i when disaster struck. On September 23, 2018, I suffered a catastrophic C2/3 Spinal Cord Injury from a shore break accident body boarding.

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Fortunately, I was in the surf with my nephew, a US Army Nurse. I was resuscitated on site with emergency transport to Honolulu’s Queens Hospital to repair bone fragments and occlusion of the left vertebral artery from the C1-C2 through C2-C3 levels due to forehead impact and subsequent hyperextension. I learned much later that the surgeon was reluctant to operate due to the severity of the vertebral artery injury. I am thankful he did, but when I regained consciousness in the intensive care unit three days later, I was intubated, I couldn’t speak and I couldn’t move anything but my eyes. I wished I had not survived the accident.

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Lying in the hospital bed alone and completely paralyzed I was living my worst nightmare and wondered how I could end everything when I couldn’t move a muscle. When my wife and daughter entered my hospital room everything changed. I knew I needed to be strong for my family. First, I moved the pinky on my right hand the slightest bit. The next time I tried I could move it a bit more. By the time I left the ICU & was transported to Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado I could move my right hand a bit and the toes on my right foot even less.

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I spent the next three months in inpatient care and a fourth month in outpatient care re-learning how to breathe, eat, and move my arms, legs, hands and feet. I experienced some of the darkest times of my life at that time. I don’t even remember smiling until late October when all the hospital staff went to great extent to dress and decorate for Halloween. Here, I also experienced some of the most powerful encouragement and support. The doctors, nurses, therapists and support staff worked together as a team to ensure whole-patient recovery, growth and reintegration. My medical and physical rehabilitation began there under guidance from my own personal team of therapists. These amazing professionals were determined to push me as hard and far as I could go, and I was determined to walk out the front doors when I reached my four-month discharge date.

On December 26, 2018, during a simple standing exercise on the therapy room parallel bars I felt strong enough to take my first steps. I was able to walk the length of the parallel bars on that day. On January 26, 2019, I walked out the front doors and flew back to Honolulu with my wife. I returned to the ICU at Queens Hospital on the 1-year anniversary of my accident to say thank you to the doctors and nurses that saved my life that first week when I wasn’t sure if I wanted to live or die.

Today I have regained enough functionality to enjoy our beautiful surroundings here in Hawai’i and even kayak and surf with a local accessibility organization.  The reality for any spinal cord injury survivor is that they will never live their life the same, but for me, I can enjoy my new life with my family with a new perspective and a new determination that guides me in all new challenges I take on.

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Mahalo,

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