Sometimes, one second changes everything...
I took this selfie 2 hours before the accident on a hot Sunday afternoon 4 months ago. I lost my control because of a damaged road and crashed into a guardrail. The accident created two periods in my life, before and after the accident, and this photograph is the last document of the former one.
Embracing hope
In the accident, two of my spinebones, T5 and T7, and chestbone were broken and my lungs were partially damaged. Because of the spinal cord injury, there was a loss of sense below my stomach and my legs were paralyzed. Since too much edema covered my spinal cord, I couldn't have the surgery on that day so we had to wait one night. It must have been the longest night for me. At that night, everybody had a hope that my legs would move immediately after the surgery. The first thing I did when I was in intensive care after surgery was to try to move my feet... I could not make it... I tried it again and again for one day but there was no movement. I realized then that my life changed completely but I had no idea about this new life. On the following days after surgery, the only thing I was doing on my cell phone was to secretly search the stories of those who suffered from spinal cord injury, but the internet was filled with disappointment stories of those who were paraplegic and unable to develop. When people are desperate, they want to embrace even the tiniest things that will bring hope to themselves.
My story
Because of this fact, now I am sharing my recovery story of spinal cord injury on social media for other patients who are looking for hope. I was a paraplegic man with 8 screws and 4 platins on a collapsed backbone when I went out of surgery. None of the doctors, including the one operating my surgery gave me any chance to walk again. However, I never believed that I was not gonna make it, so I began physiotherapy immediately. I worked hard for days, screaming in pain, until I cried. In the third week after surgery I started taking assisted steps and only after two months, I was able to walk without any assistance. I hope my story can be hope for all of those patients who have lost their faith in themselves. We should always keep in mind that spinal cord injuries are one of the most inexplicable ilnesses hiding miracles and nobody can anticipate when these miracles can become true.
