Introduction
Let me start by telling you about myself before August 11, 2001
I was a young man of 26 years and loved life and enjoyed making people happy. I graduated from the county college of Morris with an associate s degree in Psychology, and then I went on to the University of Delaware where I received my bachelors in Psychology.

Growing up I worked as a lifeguard and a water safety instructor at local lakes and a lifeguard at the shore during college. I also worked as a server in many restaurants while going to school. Also after college I was in sales and enjoyed working with people. I always had a fondness in the medical field and was hoping to become a Pharmaceutical Rep. for one of the large companies out there.

I loved to ski and was a ski instructor. I lived in Colorado for a while where I skied and worked in restaurants. I drove across country and enjoyed the sights on the way. I also loved to play golf, darts, horse shoes, billiards, and mountain bike. As of August 11, 2001 all this has STOPPED

Preface
The first question your going to ask yourself is why is this person writing this? I m doing this because it will get things off my chest and it saves a lot of time to just show someone this instead of explaining it to them. My accident happened at 12:15 am on Aug.11, 2001on RT 23 South at the Morris avenue intersection. I was making a u-turn to go RT 23 north I went to cross the highway to go back to the bar I was at Jiggs , after I got a midnight snack at G&A bagels, to give a friend of mine a ride home. The light turned green and I proceeded across and got T-boned by a pickup truck. At the scene of the accident I was knocked unconscious. I died twice, once at the scene and then once at the hospital. The police officers gave me CPR and a diffibulator was used and I also was on life support for 8 weeks and was in a coma for 6 weeks. Dr. Gandhi, Dr. Garcia, and Dr. Valenziano work in the trauma ICU at Morristown Hosp. where I was taken after the accident. Dr. Garcia and Dr. Gandhi said in the trauma ICU, Let s try one more time to bring me back to life, and that s where I rallied. The results of my injuries was that I had TBI=Traumatic Brain Injury. I do remember that I saw Dr.Garcia before I got the stomach surgery and he said that I was ready to check out and I said that I m not a hotel. Dr. Gondhi is leaving to be the director of a trauma center in Waco T.X... The last time that I will see him is when I get abdomen surgery. 15 doctors said I wasn t going to live immediately after the accident and TADA here I am writing my biography. I fooled them. Earl I m sorry for saying that I wish I was dead, I m sorry. But now I wake up each day and thank GOD continuously throughout the day. I even talk with GOD in the shower. People always asked me if I believe in GOD more and I said no but now it has to be yes. It stinks that this happened to me but I m glad for the fact that everything was internal and I have full functioning of all my body parts and most of all I m able to ski again. I did transition from Morristown to J.F.K. on 9-11-01. I got moved from Morristown to J.F.K because they thought that they would get a large amount of patients because of the terrorist attacks on the world trade center buildings. But they got no one. The injury was located on my frontal lobe. At the scene of the accident, I am unable to give detail because the case is ongoing. The other driver complained of chest pain from his seatbelt. I on the other hand it was much different. I didn t get taken by helicopter but some do. Every time you hear a helicopter the doctors beepers go off and they go running because it s someone coming into the trauma center. They didn t fly me by helicopter because it was quicker to take the rig then wait for the helicopter. I m very lucky that everything was internal because I have seen others with external scars. I always responded to this nurse Laura and never to the doctors. The good thing that happened about the accident even though it stinks is that my attitude hasn t changed at all, I m still a jokester. The timeline of this is that I had to relearn all of my activities of daily living over again they are called the ADLs. I had to relearn how to work on my balance to be able to walk again, my speech to speak clearly again and then also my daily intake of food because of my diabetes. I can t over/under eat because it will affect my blood sugar. If you have any questions you can email me at xtremskiierrick@aol.com

Chapter 1
The Call
My sister and her husband Mike were over someone s house sleeping over to go to Mikes nephews wedding the next day. My sister woke up in the middle of the night and her equilibrium was off, she then said to her husband Mike, that something s wrong . He said, Have some water and go back to sleep . Her equilibrium was off, so much that she felt as if she was drunk. And due to it she was unable to pick my nephew Brian up because he was crying. She almost felt drunk. Well she tried to go back to sleep but she really couldn t. Then in the morning as they were getting ready to go to the wedding the phone rang and Mike s wife answered the phone. Not my sister s husband Mike, but the person s house they were at. She then said that they want Mike, Mike gagg . So my brother-in-law gets on the phone and talks to my uncle Frank. My sisters in the background and says, It s my dad he s dead isn t he ? No, it s my brother he is! Well, I wasn t dead, but the doctors didn t believe I would pull through the night. I surprised a lot of people including myself. My sister and her husband were in Virginia getting ready to go to Mikes nephews wedding and when they got the call they flew home. My friend Erica got my sister and my nephew Brian a flight home on Continental Airlines because she works for them as a flight attendant. The rest I ll talk about just shows that I kick butt in everything I do.

Chapter 2
Functions of the brain
First, if you need more information on the brain look it up, I don t feel like sitting here and writing the life long history behind it. I injured the frontal lobe which is responsible for motor skills, verbal communication, and memory. I injured the Broca s area which is responsible for short term memory (STM) to long term memory (LTM). My injury was a closed head injury. It s like someone once said, it s like taking a shoebox with jell-o in it and throwing it against the wall. The shoebox will stop but the jell-o will keep going until it stops , and that s what happened to me. I know my limitations now. I also had 5 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, fractured hip and pelvis; I had no visible injuries on my body. I also had a tracheotomy which is an airway inserted into your neck so your able to breath without your lungs doing it but a machine. I also was on life support at the time. I also had a feeding tube inserted into my stomach and when it was time to take it out I did it myself on my bed. Dr. Medina was getting ready to take it out and I thought I would save him time so I ripped it out myself and the doctor was so kind to charge me for it.

Chapter 3
Memory
One of the biggest things that happened to me is that I injured my memory process. One example I have, is one time I was going out to dinner with my mom, aunt, and her friends. I forgot my diabetes management kit before we left. So in return we had to return to the house and get it. Another thing I did once was I was at the billiards hall and I left my jacket there and also my large coffee container. And to top it all off I left my jacket there also. I can sit here for a while and write about the things I ve forgotten before, but I forgot, just joking. Now, I leave you with another thing that I did. I once was going skiing and I forgot my skiing helmet so I had to rent one there. I did remember to bring it the next time though. But it s the little things that drive me nuts. This doesn t happen at all now but it did before. Currently my memory is at about 95%, it s only every once and a while that I will forget something. Another explanation that my memory was back was on my mom s birthday she asked me to give her a kiss and I puckered up my lips. I also went skiing with my sister and her husband and I had to remember everything before we left, which I did. I had to remember my insulin, ski pants for my sister, my gloves, my helmet, and goggles. I remember when I was at H.A.O.T. they instructed me to take notes and at first I didn t want to do it but now I love the fact of adding new information into my book. I did start to enjoy it more and more, so much that when I was at H.A.O.T. the therapist asked me for my notes so she can copy them and when she viewed them she was very surprised at how thorough they were. I also think that my memory was good up until a month before the accident. Like I was on vacation in Mexico and I remember very little of it. I really don t remember the night of the accident and the doctors said that s a good thing because the memory of it would be too traumatic for me. I was told that I left the bar I was at Jiggs , to get something to eat at G&As bagels. Then on my way back it happened. I do remember the past long term thoughts. Like people I knew from the past. I went to church on Easter at 12 noon. It was amazing that I remembered the our father and all the prayers that you say outloud. I also remembered when to sit and stand and when to do the sign of the cross on your body. There are other things that you should know about but it would be too much to explain all of it. When I came out of the coma my mom came to see me then she left to eat. 5 minutes later my sister came in the room and asked if anyone had come to visit and I said no . My mom knew right there that something was wrong. All the while my mom was in the next room.

Chapter 4
Coma
I was measured on the Glaxco coma scale for coma victims and my rating was a 2, the scale ranges from 3-15(3 being the most severe and 15 being very mild). At the scene of the accident the police found me with my eyes open but I was not breathing. It s amazing I should have been dead but I m sitting here writing this. I was in a coma for 6 weeks and on life support for 8 weeks. Leslie who is a friend of my moms did a whole check of my body after the accident and she saw that my feet were pointing straight and when this happens it means you ll be a goner.
When I got out of the coma I was in a wheelchair with a table on it and the wheelchair tilted back because I couldn t sit up by myself. I kept trying to rip it off every time I got in it. (Wheelchair=skiing) First I was in a bed with restraints, then a floor bed. The only thing that I was able to remember is that when I was at H.A.O.T I had to go to the bathroom and they told me that I had to ring the bell for the nurse(not so). I was in a net bed or should I say zipper bed. One that zips up from the outside so it s impossible to escape. The way I got out was I punched it where it zippered and when you do that it breaks and you can slide out the bottom.
After I did that I went to the bathroom and then went to the nurse s station and asked if I could go back to bed ? They looked at me with a confused look and asked who are you , and I said I m Rick De Pol . They then said you can t be he s in bed . Uh duh I m right here (Nov.2001)

When I went to J.F.K. I was not moving at all. My PT and OT therapists were Mindy and Amend and speech was Barbra, after two days they had me moving my left arm and then it was all up hill from there. I do remember how I did away with the cane. The way that I got rid of the cane was I asked my PT if I can walk across the air mattress, and she said yes . So I walked across it. Not the way she thought I would do it. I went sideways crossing on foot over the other which is termed carioca or grapevine. And they thought I was going to walk across it forwards. NAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
I also liked to sleep a lot before my accident. So much , that in the past I would have such a good dream that I would wake up for a minute then go back to sleep to finish the dream. Now I don t dream at all. Let me reiterate that I had one last night it was 3/23/04. I m on the insulin pump right now and I had a dream that I had to back onto saline solution because that s what they start you with so you can get used to it, and therefore it would be on placebo insulin. I also had prayers around the world and I think that contributed to my amazing recovery. I have to tell you that first I was in Morristown Memorial Hospital then I went to J.F.K. BTU, then I continued on to H.A.O.T. which is a rehab center for head injuries. Now, I m currently out of rehab. I do remember one time when I was at H.A.O.T I went to bed at 10pm and I really don t need that much sleep. I need 6 hours of sleep, so I woke up at 5am and nobody get there till 7am, so I just laid there with nothing to do. When I m at home I need 6 hours of sleep and will wake up when I get to that 6 hour sleep mark and will shut my alarm clock off. I thought that alarm clocks are made for them to wake you up and not the opposite of you turning them off before they go off. For some, comas are like black holes. It starts to suck you in then it s too late to re-enter reality. But I rejected the force of the gravitational pull. I thank god everyday and also my grandmother who was very religious, for re-entering this world with full functionality.

Chapter 5
Stomach muscles
My stomach was not connected and the reason why the abdomen muscles were not connected is because in the past, when and around the coma stage, I had peritonitis and sepsis which is an infection. The doctors had to open me up and keep me open for 24 hours and then go back in and close me up again. Only on the outside and not closing up all the muscles on the inside. And I don t like the fact that I have to wear an abdominal girdle everyday I once threw it out, but the doctors said that they wouldn t do the surgery if I didn t wear it. And I can t wait for the day where I don t have to wear it anymore. Well, I ll wear it for six weeks or longer it will all depend on my recovery rate. It will help not to overexert the muscles. I saw the plastic surgeon on 6/30/03 and he said, I can wear it only if I want to , like I love wearing it. The surgery took place on May 12th at Morristown Hospital. I was in the hospital from May 12th- May 15th. I was talking with the plastic surgeon and he said, That it would be good if they keep me under for two days because I can cough and ripe the stitches out then the doctors would have to start at square one with the operation, but it went so well that I was only under for five hours.
And the plastic surgeon said, I will do most of the work at the end of the surgery . After the surgery was over there were drains put in to catch the extra secretion, so one night I went in the bathroom and pulled them out then put tissue over it to stop the bleeding. Well later on they found out where I threw them out, but I hated having them attached to me. Another thing that I did and I believe it was because I was under anesthesia was that I not only ripped the backing to the bed off but I kept asking if I could go play pool in the family room that they didn t have. But it looked like the establishment I was in when I was in rehab in Edison. Currently I have about 100 stitches on the outside of my abdomen and they will be taken out on May 20th. I used to ride my bike to Jiggs the bar I go to to play pool nut since the abdomen surgery my parents took the bike away so now I walk there. On 6/30/03 I got my bike back yea .

Chapter 6
Speech
One of the major problems from my injury is my speech is garbled. It s not like I can t retrieve the proper words, it s that my speech is garbled. I have this problem called Dysarthia which is problems with muscle movement. I like to sing the lyrics of songs, to first work on the pitch then the pronunciation. Before my accident I used to talk in a rapid manner, now I repeat myself if I think the other party doesn t understand me. I still have to drink with a straw 9/28/02. First, I was one pudding thick liquids then nectar thick with a spoon, now I drink with a straw, the next step is to go get a swallow test to see if I still silently aspirate which I highly doubt I'll do. Silently aspirating is when liquid goes down the wrong pipe and you are unaware of it. I also had a roommate at the time Pauletto , and I told him that I was going to kill him. Well, that didn t go over real well because they changed my room immediately. I had to also do speech exercises and when the speech therapist and I met in a room there was a computer in there and I used to write SUPERCALAFRAGALISTIC EXPEALADOSIOUS . And even though I can t be load when I want to be this is my new life now.

Chapter 7
Outpatient Speech Therapy
I started outpatient speech therapy at Chilton hospital. I started with a girl named Meredith. She did speech questions with me and a hearing test. She shuts her phone off during therapy and at the end of it I should ve said that I hear your phone ringing. I wasn t sure what section to put this in but on 3/10/03 I went to the oral surgeon and got three teeth extracted. DAM, does it hurt right now which is an hour and a half afterwards.

Chapter 8
Dr.McCagg
My primary care doctor is Dr.McCagg who works on the second floor at H.A.O.T. in Edison. She oversees most of the going ons there. Her office resides on the second floor. She handles her job with expertise. And she handles all situations diligently and with dignity. But seriously, I want to thank her, and I think she helped me tremendously.

Chapter 9
Dr.Mott
Dr. Mott is a very cool person. I have psychological therapy with her and she is a nuropsyhologist. What we do is we play cards sometimes. We play a game called Russian bank and it would be too much to explain all of it. She used to work at Kessler before she worked at H.A.O.T. Well there s so much to thank her for I ll save you the time.

Chapter 10
TL Nurses
Their names are Fran G. and Bev. They re good people, they re good because they work with you to make your condition the most enjoyable even though you re there because it s not a choice you had but they make it the most enjoyable. Even though it stinks with the aliment I have (Diabetes). But at times I have to take injections and they are nice enough to give me the injection if it s hard to reach the area. They also give me information of where and when I gave my last shot. I joke with them sometimes, like in the morning I act overly hyper and say to them I need my Ritalin . They have a lot to deal with and they do a fabulous job at it. But I get mad sometimes about my blood sugar numbers and have outbursts. I want to say I m sorry and hopefully my numbers will get better. I also want to thank Carolyn Brown for her help even though she knows that she is a shop alcoholic. She would also get upset at the way I drove the wheelchair always marking up the walls by smashing into them.

Chapter 11
Diabetes
I was diagnosed with Diabetes when I was 16. I was in good control before the accident and hopefully won t have any complications. Knock on wood . Sometimes, when my blood sugar is low I get confused. Like once, I came upstairs and asked my mom where I was. She thought I was joking but she knew I was serious only after I asked again. One time, if you know anything about diabetes and blood sugars, I once had a blood sugar of 31 and was winning at cards with the night nurse at H.A.O.T... In the past if I had a low BS I would get shaky and if I had a high I would get tired. Now I don t feel the highs or lows at all. I also rarely get hungry anymore. I also make about two quarts of iced French Vanilla coffee everyday and drink it throughout the day. Like right now its 7am and I m enjoying it. Coffee has no effect on me. At home and when I was in rehab, I used to pick out my breakfast the night before in order to know the carbohydrates I would have. My Bs numbers are bad! sometimes, for example they were once 395,405,435 what the heck is that about? The doctors feel that the BS numbers are out of control because of my brain injury and I think they are right. I try to control my BS numbers but a lot of people including myself can t figure out why they are all over. With my diabetes I have to count carbohydrates and I do fairly well at it. I m supposed to have 75gms for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Chapter 12
Aquatics
Aquatics are exercises in the water. What it does is it works on your balance. And it s in the water so if you fall you are in the water so there is a cushion for you to fall on. In the water there is a stair master, treadmill, ski machine, bicycle, and also water resistance with a board that I put against my chest to cause resistance while walking in the water. There is also balancing by the instructor throwing a ball to me while standing on one leg. I like the water so it therefore doesn t bother me to be in the water and also I used to lifeguard on the ocean at L.B.I. . . . I was swimming once and the instructor tied a rope around my waist to keep me in a straight line. She would tug the rope to tell me I was going off course.

Chapter 13
Summer Activities
Over the summer, I went to L.B.I. for summer vacation and went in the ocean swimming. I did fairly well at it. I also got a soccer ball for a present and what I was doing was kicking it up a hill so in turn it would roll back to me where I would kick it again. I m the type of person that if I want to accomplish something I will find the best way to achieve it and if there are things that will waste my time I will avoid doing them. Like I had PT exercises to do and I never did them because first, they were too easy and second, I really didn t think they helped me because they were so easy to do. I also went to L.B.I. and rented a wave runner. With jet skis you can cut the wheel real hard and it will do a 360 degree spin but unfortunately after looking my glasses I found out that wave runners don t do that. When I was a student at UDEL I played ultimate Frisbee and it was a lot of fun.

Chapter 14
Outpatient Physical Therapy
I started going to Kessler Rehab in Riverdale. I got tested by this gentleman named Dan. I actually enjoyed it. One of the tests that were given was to stand on one leg for as long as possible. I think that I did rather well at it.
I think, that from being in a wheelchair, to standing on one leg is a big accomplishment. Some things I did was I would walk in the middle of the tiles[][][][][]and then also I would take a piece of Styrofoam and I would step over it sideways. Take one foot and place it over it then follow with the other foot. On my way out they had given me an occupational test to see if I had a full range of movement with my hands and arms. I also read a story about this gentleman named Dana Bowman who is amputated from the knee down from a skydiving accident. He also skis. He s just a highly motivated person, and he doesn t think anything is impossible in life which I believe also. I ve also gone into a room and said to myself, Oh wait I forgot something , and would do a complete 180 degree turn and go back where I came from. I got tested one day and it was the berg balance scale and I got 52 out of 56 on the scale, NOT BAD HUH .
I did discontinue going here and started to go to the YHMA in Wayne N.J. for PT and ST and they informed me that I would be finishing therapy come Dec. 30th.

Chapter 15
Skiing at Windham
I went skiing at Windham, N.Y. and I did very well. I found it easier going down stairs sideways then forwards with ski boots on. I did go down the mountain clenching my hands in front of me without poles and it therefore help out with my balance. I even went off a jump; it was a big one and I leaned a little too far back and did what s called a back slap , then came back up.
At first the instructors let me make turns smooth then they let me do whatever I wanted. At first, I made turns to the right and to the left smooth . I really like to go fast but they told me not Togo fast, but I denied there wishes sometimes and went fast, oh well . My legs didn t hurt like they usually do either. I did better than I expected to do, I surprised myself. There s a gentleman there named Dave and he s a double amputee from the Vietnam War and he walks so well that you wouldn t even know it. 3/8/03 there was a handicapped race at Windham and I got first place in my category. In the race I went trough gates and missed one and gained five seconds on my time but the next time down I realized the first time that I did that so I remembered the gate and made it. Then after the race was over I went up a lift that brings you to the top and I didn t want to go to the top so in return I had to figure the best way down with the least difficulty. I went down a trail called lower whistler which is a blue square. I also went down the park and there was a jump/drop-off. After it was all over I was very amazed at the amazing accomplishments. There were other people in the race that used devices that were called:

1. Outriggers: Ski poles with six inch skis at the bottom of them
2. Monoskis: A chair with one ski attached to the bottom of it.
3. Bi-Skis: A chair with two skis attached to the bottom.

WHEELCHAIR>BIKE>SKIING
There was a mogul field but I think that my balance isn t there yet and I will wait till next year to try them. It was so nice on that I had a fleece on and because it was so nice out I took that off and just wore the t-shirt that the adaptive ski foundation sponsored. This time was like the first time, my legs didn t hurt. I got a cut above my eye but was unaware at how I got it. I also had two cuts on my knuckles. To remember it, I ve got to get hurt really bad or if it is amusing to me I will remember it. Like one time I was coming up the stairs and I got to the top step and feel backwards and knocked the back of my head on the door and laughed. But one time I was in Philly getting eye surgery and afterwards in the hotel I was banging the walls.

Chapter 16
Therapeutic Recreation
Their names are Eryn and Jean at H.A.O.T. Eryn works upstairs and Jean works downstairs at the building I was in. I was in a wheelchair at first, then a walker, and then a cane and now I currently have no device to assist me. I got off the cane on 9/17/02. I have what s called ataxia in my right leg. What it does is it kicks out when I walk. It s gotten better but it still exists and because of it, it s almost impossible to run, and I ve tried before. I went skiing down my front lawn once 1/? /02. I made a 100$ bet with a doctor that I would do it and not fall and I won the bet. I also worked at the top of Keystone resorts at a restaurant called The Alpenglow Stube . And when there was a full moon my friends and I used to go to a place called Tuckerman s Ravine and ski. So I think that skiing should be a problem for me. I went skiing and snowboarding on 2/22/04 at mountain creek in Vernon N.J. and I only took two runs snowboarding but from what was done I was very pleased with what has been done. I also like to play billiards. At H.A.O.T. they have a pool table in the family room and I play there a lot with a fellow named John and he plays with one hand because he had a stroke and the other hand doesn t work. It s impossible to snooker him. And I also play with Jean who works there. I play billiards in N.J. at an establishment called Crown Billiards. I play there with my neighbor Teddy who is rated 30th in the world for billiards. I ride my bike a lot and I do very well at it the only thing that is hard is going up hills and standing which takes a lot of balance so what I do is I put the bike in the lowest gear and go up the hill without standing. I also played golf one time and did well at it. I also go to clubs sometimes and dance. I used to be a very good dancer so eventually it will all come back to me. On 11/22/03 I went down a hill on my bike hands free with no problem and it was a distance of about a half of a mile. I haven t done this since my accident. I also got a cd burner for Christmas and it works on my memory so I don t repeat a song on there twice. On Easter I went to my sister s house and they have a trampoline there. What I was doing was I was bouncing on it then I would bounce on my butt then back onto my feet. When I was doing it you have to keep a good center of gravity. I played in a pool tournament at the bar I go to Jiggs and I won first place and received some money. I went to AC and stayed at the Brigata. It was new and very nice. I play Black Jack mostly and machines video poker . I did eventually walk with $150 and the reason why I left a winner and because let s just say I start with $50, if I lose it I will leave but if I start to win I will put part of the winning portions in my pocket and play with what I have in my hand and if I lose that then I will leave.

Chapter 17
People at Crown Billiards
Crown billiards is a billiards hall that I go to. The owner of the building is Carmen. He used to work as the owner now he sold it to Phil, but he still owns the building. I played Phil once in a tournament we got to 4-4 and the first person to win 5 games is the winner. The next game he won but he let me pick out a cue stick from the showcase and I picked a green one weighing 21oz. The past two times, I left the cue home because I was more interested in bringing copies of my book for people. There s one person Dave and before he comes in I rack up the balls so when he gets there I joke with him and say, I ve been waiting for you, see . Then there is Teddy who brings me to the pool hall and he lives diagonal across the street from me. Brett is a person I know from high shool and I shoot with him sometimes. Joe brings in cue sticks to sell sometimes. Ray loves to smoke cigars and every time I see him he has one. Adam is Carmen s son and I shoot with him also. Steve Dom is another person know from the past and we used to play poker with fake gambling chips and we used to call it, THE DOM SHOP .
Then there are people that I know who work there. Winston is the first person I know and he s a very nice guy. Then there s Kathy, I play cards with her sometimes and also shoot stick with her. There is also Michelle, who I really just met recently.

Chapter 18
Vision
I was diagnosed with diplopia which is double vision and because of it I have to follow a reading with my finger. I was supposed to wear an eye patch but I didn t because I thought it looked foolish. I had surgery on September 16th, 2002 at Philadelphia s eye institute to correct it. It worked somewhat, but I will have to wait a bit longer because I see double vision worse right now but I did learn to compensate for it though. My vision is not blurred and I still have a wide range of vision. A book says that after six months it should get better and it has. I even began to wear contacts like I did before. It s a good thing that I have a side vision because when I m riding my bike I can look out of the side of my eye to see if there is traffic coming so I m able to cross the street.

Chapter 19
Everyday Household Chores
On 2/19/03 I went up onto the deck and we have water leaking down from the gutter onto the deck and a sheet of ice formed there, so I had to break the ice up with a shovel and throw it off the deck. I came inside for a bit because my hands got cold but then I went back out and finished it. I also went down under the deck and we had water leaking down from the deck above that froze. I also keep my room tidy at all times. Some quotes that I wanted to add where, You gain your strength and confidence by every experience where you stop to look fear in the face and say to yourself, I have lived through this .I can take the next thing that comes along . During trying times keep on trying ! You can t create experience you must undergo it (Albert Calamus). I just shoveled the bottom part of the driveway and made a path to get to the car on (3/6/03) and also the back and front walk. I went to a seminar on 3/26/03 by Dr. Fred Luskin and to start with I was late because I was getting a root canal done. He talked about human emotions. To give two examples of it he said were; that fearfulness equals stress, and calming thoughts equal no stress. His lecture was quite informative. Afterwards my mom and I were leaving and on our way out we hit a pothole that gave us a flat tire. So, I loosened up the lug nuts and started to lift the car up with a cheap jack. Then, the car slide forwards and bent the jack that was so sturdy. Then, a gentleman Chris showed up who was at the lecture also and helped. Then a kid Anthony showed up and helped also. He even got a ride from campus security to go retrieve a jack from his car. Afterwards, he showed up with a jack and we changed the tire. My mom offered them money, but they declined. Well, after it was all said and done, we got through it with a little help from the angels that they were. I started to do the leaves in the front and backyard. I m not going to give all the details I ll just give a start and finish date (3/26/03-4/19/03). On 2/18/03 I just moved a big closet from one room to another. The way that I did it was I took off the doors to it and then reassembled them when I finished moving it. It was very intriguing how it was done. I also went over my friend s house and I had to take every step carefully because there was snow to either side of me. I also red a story about a gentleman named Dana Bowman who was amputated from the knee down from a skydiving accident. He also skis. And he s just a highly motivated person, and he doesn t think anything is impossible in life. I shoveled my deck of about 2 feet of snow. It was hard but at least I m glad I got it done. On 3/9/03 I just spackled our bathroom because we are getting tile put in (3/9/03-3/11/03). It really worked on my balance because I had to stand on a ladder that was shaped like an upside-down V. So in the near future we will be showering in our new bathroom. I started to do leaves again It s like that song, here comes the rain again falling on your head like a bad memory .

Chapter 20
Vocational Work
I started a new program on September 17th, 2002 and it correlates with work. It will last about four months from nine am to three pm and it ends the day I get released December 20th. I m fairly excited about it. Greenwich Home Mortgage is a place I worked at previous to my accident. I was a sales accountant there, but unfortunately I will discontinue having contact with the clients because of my speech. Also I can t talk quickly like you have to do in sales. I also wanted to become a pharmaceutical representative but the problem with that is that there is a large amount of talking in there. I like to work on computers and maybe I will do that. I had Kathleen for vocational therapy. I had to take a test to see what my occupational capacities are. They were questions that you had to figure out in your head like how many hours are there in a year. I m presently working with a gentleman from the company called People Helping People to assist me in locating a job. I hopefully will get a job working with computers.

Chapter 21
DRIVING
I took a test in December 2002. It was a board they call the touch board. What it does is it has lights on it that you will hit when they light up. It also has numbers that flash in the middle of it. What you have to do is hit the button with your hand then at the same time call out the number that flashes in the middle of the board. These checks for your side vision capacity and also reaction time. I did fairly well at it I scored a 90%. I have driven on back roads and also on the highway and had absolutely no trouble at it. It s a good thing also that I never had a seizure because I would have to be seizure free for a year before I m eligible top drive again.

TO BE CONTINUED

Email Rick