i didn’t mean to dive deep; i meant to dive shallow, but unfortunately i didn’t dive shallow enough, and the top of my head crushed into the hard cement bottom of my friend’s pool.
in that instant i thought that i’d broken my jaw, but as i tried to reach for my chin, i realized that i couldn’t move my arms or my legs.
fortunately, i had been swimming with two good buddies who quickly came to my rescue, and to their credit they gently and precisely floated me to the side of the pool and up onto the deck.
an ambulance arrived in minutes, and i was wisked sirens wailing, to the trauma unit at sunnybrook hospital in toronto.
eventually, i was transfered to lyndhurst rehabilitation hospital ( toronto ), where i worked my butt off for 15 grueling months, doing intense physiotherapy and rehab, and although my recovery was good, it was not complete.
i was faced at age 19, with the daunting task of living my life in a wheelchair, and trying to cope with the daily challenges of quadriplegia.
the philosophy of living one day at a time seemed to me to be the only viable survival option, and i resolved to move forward with my life to the best of my ability. with much blood, sweat and tears, and the wonderful support of family and friends, i have never looked back, and have in fact thrived, and carved out a happy, rewarding, and successful personal and professional life over the past 32 years.
my paintings have been exhibited around the world, including toronto, montreal, new york and paris, and have received numerous awards including the prestigous “prix speciale rene huyge”, from the louvre museum, paris, 1985.
i have sipped champagne at the new york city gallery opening of my work, and cut the ribbon unveiling a 22 foot mural commission at variety village in scarborough, ontario.
i have used my talents to create benefit for others; my very special christmas cards, have raised more than $100,000 for various worthwhile charities over the past 15 years, and i have donated many pieces to fund raising auctions during my career.
most recently i have launched a new fund raising initiative called musiccanhelp.com. musiccanhelp is a music download site where customers purchase my original songs and music, and direct a portion of their purchase to a charity of their choice.
over the years i have also worked very hard to achieve and maintain a full and active lifestyle. i live on my own. i cook. i drive. i work out regularly.
after overcoming so many obstacles over the years, and achieving a good measure of success, i look forward with confidence to the future.
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| Enjoying the day, Aug.2010 |
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| Jeff Morrison and Dave Beirness @ Sarsstock 2005 |
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