Yesterday a wise and beautiful old soul I know sent me a text - "The defining factor in our lives is not the resources that we have, but our resourcefulness". Her words reminded me of one of my former students who, at 17, became a paraplegic. Despite what most of us would consider almost insurmountable adversity, he responded to his circumstances with a strength and alacrity from which we all might learn.
When we think of paraplegia, typically we think, "Oh, that person can't walk." or "That person is confined to a wheelchair." Well, it's a bit more complicated than that insofar as paraplegics need to be in constant motion, so as to avoid what are the equivalent of life-threatening bedsores, in addition to contending with other issues, like a diaphragm that can "lock up", potentially causing suffocation, or blood clots forming in the legs and torso, potentially causing a stroke.
Scott was a pretty typical high school sophomore, when it comes to this part of the country -- tall, athletic, handsome, well-bred, smart, privileged. As captain of both the volleyball team and the water polo team, he was also developing quite nicely into a pretty typical Big Man on Campus.
One afternoon he was at a garden party with his family; he and some of his friends decided to go swimming. Greenwich CT being what it is, the reflecting pool in the garden was, quite literally, Olympic-sized. Not differentiating between the reflecting pool and the even larger swimming pool behind the house, everyone jumped in and, in that instant, Scott's life changed forever.
Through a series of mutual social connections, Scott's mother contacted me upon his return home. She explained that he had crushed his C-5 vertebra and damaged his C-7. His spinal cord has been damaged in such a way as to cause paralysis from about the 4th rib (think: a little above where your elbow bends) down, and also effecting the use of his hands - our hands and fingers, by the way, are not "wired" straight, so different spinal injuries interfere with dexterity differently.
I started working with Scott in a number of different ways. We practiced various Taoist and Yogic breathing techniques, like Tu-Na (3 part) breathing, kapalabhati (Cleansing Breath) and bhastrika (Bellows Breath) to strengthen his diaphragm, work the interior musculature that he could still control and move his organs around to avoid adhesions.
I also introduced him to kumbhaka (Breath Suspension), sometime called Death-in-Life, so that if his diaphragm ever did lock up, which it did once or twice, he wouldn't panic.
In addition, we practiced a number of adapted Yoga asana (postures) and I even taught him some Kung Fu Wu Su, to improve his strength and dexterity. He became quite proficient at that, getting to a point where he could block and punch, execute some very effective Chin-Na-Fa (holding and locking) techniques, legitimately throw me in a few different ways and even give me a run for my money with a staff.
One day, rather ignorantly in hindsight, I said to him, "It must be something of a struggle for you to be in the spot that you're in." He looked at me quizzically, made a face and said, "Dude, I'm still Scotty - I just can't walk." He then promptly snapped the staff he was holding, swept me off my feet and dropped me on my butt.
Resilience. Fortitude. Inner Strength. It's there for all of us, if we choose to reach for it. The glass is never half empty, nor is it half full. It's overflowing.
© 2009 Michael J. Formica, All Rights Reserved
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