The View From Here (24-09)
By: Justine Chichester
“There is no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It’s why you were born. And how you become most truly alive.” – Oprah Winfrey
Ten years. A decade. September 20, 2024 marks ten years that I have been living with a spinal cord injury and hydrocephalus. Every year leading up to this day, I think long and hard about how I want to commemorate the occasion. This year, though, my thoughts about how to acknowledge this anniversary started very early and I couldn’t seem to find anything that felt right.
Should I have a celebration dinner for how far I’ve come? Maybe a lunch with all of my friends and family who’ve been so supportive over these past ten years? None of that seemed to fit.
As I pondered all of this, I became reflective of what happened on that day. That day, in a moment, when my entire life changed. And I thought about how different this September 20th would be, as opposed to THAT September 20th.
Today I won’t be grabbing my cute, gold platform wedge shoes and running out to my hair and nail appointment at Mark’s salon, like I did that morning ten years ago. Instead, today, I will be grabbing my walker, carefully and very, very slowly walking to my blood test appointment at UM Lennar Medical Center to complete a bunch of tests my physicians are running because as I’ve discovered over the last ten years living with a spinal cord injury, the bladder and bowel issues tend to be more of a problem than the actual paralysis and not walking thing. So, there is much concern lately over my kidney counts. And, of course, lots and lots of doctors’ appointments and tests lately for that.
Instead of grabbing lunch and gossiping with my friends, as I did that day ten years ago, I will be focusing on my work, today, with Debbie and our important activities with Disability Independence Group, as well as my upcoming events as part of the Disability Advisory Board for the City of Coral Gables.
Oh, how things have changed over ten years.
I am reflective today of the challenges I’ve faced, the tremendous obstacles I’ve overcome and the enormous opportunities that have come my way because of all of it.
My point is…this is me…today. This is me, after ten years of struggling with living with paralysis. This is me, after all of the tears and the triumphs and the tearing down of who I was, only to build myself back up to be who I was meant to be. I’ve found my purpose. And, as I walk into these medical appointments today, instead of having celebration lunches or dinners, and my nurses and my doctors say to me, “You are the sweetest, happiest patient we’ve ever had,” I know it is because of the gratitude I’ve learned over these years. I realize that advocating for myself and, more importantly, advocating for others who are facing the challenges of disability, has brought me to my purpose. Gratitude for all of it. Gratitude for every moment.
The challenges of not being able to walk, the journey through navigating not being able to function the way I once knew how, have helped me to be who I am today. And, after a very long and tumultuous ten years, I can confidently say that I like this version of myself so much more than who I was on September 19, 2014. In fact, I can say that I love her. I am prouder of her than I ever thought I could be.
“The two most important days in life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
