A Bike Accident Left This ER Doctor Paralyzed. Now He’s Back At Work by J. Hobson and C. Bentley
The guy in the story below says he “doesn’t like the idea of being called an “inspiration” by people who hear his story.”
Well, I’m sorry, but yes, I find his story inspirational, or at least instructional.
(Link): A Bike Accident Left This ER Doctor Paralyzed. Now He’s Back At Work
June 2018
by Jeremy Hobson, Chris Bentley
…It’s a typical doctor-patient interaction, but one thing is unusual: Both the patient and the doctor are in wheelchairs — the patient because he’s visiting the emergency room, and the doctor because of a spinal cord injury.
Grossman, 37, lost the use of his legs less than a year ago, and he’s already back at work.
The New Normal
Grossman’s memories of the accident that left him paraplegic are fuzzy. He was mountain biking with his friend Ron last September in the Cuyuna trail system of northern Minnesota.
[He had a biking accident]
…He was airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center in Minneapolis, where he learned he had suffered a spinal cord injury between his seventh and eighth thoracic vertebrae.
Grossman spent the next 4 1/2 months in three hospitals, recovering from the accident and learning how to do basic things, like how to get in and out of his wheelchair without falling.
…Today, Grossman lives on his own. He’s more comfortable in his wheelchair, though he still worries about falling out of it.
He’s had to renovate his apartment so he can do things many people take for granted, like lowering the sink so he can clean dishes on his own.
…Grossman acknowledges he’s needed to pay close attention to his mental health since the accident. But he says early on during his recovery, he faced a choice.
“Option A is, ‘You are paralyzed, what are you going to do about it?’ Option B is, ‘You are paralyzed. Let’s sit and wallow in self-pity.’ I decided for option A, and honestly I think most people do decide for option A,” Grossman says. “But option B seems really easy. That self-pity component seems pretty reasonable.”
While Grossman says he’s doing everything he wants to do, he feels “an increasing sense of loss” about his life before the accident.
…Despite the challenges he has overcome, Grossman says he doesn’t like the idea of being called an “inspiration” by people who hear his story.
…In some ways, Grossman says, the physical challenges of getting back to work were easier to overcome than the psychological aspects of his job. Some patients are rude to him, he says, or have difficulty believing their doctor is in a wheelchair.
You can read the entire piece (Link): here
This guy reached the same conclusion I did – you can either (1) fall into non-stop sorrow, self pity, and anger in life, or you can (2) choose to accept your situation and move on.
This guy could’ve sat around for years and years feeling sorry for himself, being angry at God and at life – but he made a choice, to accept his situation and work with it.
I’m sure he probably did feel some sadness and anger for a few weeks or months, which is normal and fine – but he made a decision to not stay in that sorrow and anger.
If you don’t opt for that second outlook (2), you’re not likely to ever enjoy life again – there is zero chance anything about your life, situation, or attitude will improve.
I don’t think it’s easy, though. It can be very tough to move through the anger, fury, mental pain, and disappointment to break through.
Related:
(Link): Victim Syndrome (‘Are You A Victim of the Victim Syndrome’) – by Insead
(Link): Clinical Depression Doesn’t Make People Incapable of Making Choices or Changes
(Link): Being Bitter and Blaming Others Can Ruin Your Health by Elizabeth Cohen
(Link): Addendum – Mental Health and Treatment and the Goals of Mental Health Professionals
Christian Pundit 