This time of isolation reminds me a lot of when I first got home from the hospital.. I hardly went anywhere besides therapy or doctor’s appointment.

Sure, I still had family and friends to come visit me but I missed going out and doing things. I missed my friends, I missed my senior year of school, I missed things that I never realized I would miss. I just couldn’t do them anymore. Now, I know you guys are missing those things too!

There are around 300,000 people in the US living with a spinal cord injury, and for most of them, “social distancing” is normal. It takes hours for people to simply get ready. Then, there are all the worries about if we can ‘fit’ into places— Will there be enough room for us? Do they even have a ramp? Is their bathroom big enough for us to use? The list goes on and on. These worries can make it easier to just stay home.

I am very blessed to have great family members that take me places, nurses to help me get ready, and friends that still make an effort to do things with me. All these things make living with a spinal cord injury better but there are still so many things I wish I could still do.

The one thing about social distancing right now is that we are all in it together. Right now, you probably don’t need a reminder to not take things for granted. I think this pandemic has definitely made us realize that. But as the world returns to normal, we will naturally slip into our daily routines and forget what a blessing it is to be able things we want to do

Whether it’s a global pandemic, an accident, or a natural disaster, you can quickly be reminded that you aren’t in control of your life as much as you think you are and it can change in the blink of an eye. So, when this is all over, I hope that you won’t ever forget to be thankful for the things you are free to do! I know I will be a little extra grateful to get to do the things that I CAN do again!!!